Top 5 questions about CCS

CCS technology isn’t new. In fact, it draws on technology that the oil and gas industry has been using for over fifty years now and there have actually been CCS projects in place for around 20 years. Today, there are multiple operational CCS projects around the globe that demonstrate the efficacy of the technology, projects that together can capture and store around 40 million tonnes per annum of CO₂.

Most climate scientists are clear that using CCS technology to store carbon plays an important role in the transition of the energy system. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 1.5°C scenarios show that even when the energy system reaches net-zero emissions, there will be residual emissions because some sectors and end users will not be able to eliminate the use of hydrocarbons.

Additionally, a 2015 report by the International Energy Agency says that CCS is the only technology able to deliver significant emissions reductions from the use of hydrocarbons. The agency's modelling suggests 6 billion tonnes a year of carbon would need to be stored by 2050 to stay in line with the Paris Agreement goals.

In 2019, the UK’s Climate Change Committee said that CCS is a “necessity, not an option” to meet the UK's 2050 ambition, a sentiment that Shell agrees with. And, in 2020, the Energy Systems Catapult published a UK Net Zero Report that outlines that “under Net Zero, CCS is also vital for mitigating industrial emissions”.

Today, Shell is involved in seven of the 51 large-scale CCS projects globally, as listed in 2019 by the Global CCS Institute. These seven projects store around 5 million tonnes of CO₂ per annum, or around 12.5% of global CCS capacity. By the end of 2020, for example, our Quest CCS project in Canada had captured and safely stored more than 5.5 million tonnes of CO₂ since it began operating in 2015. In Norway, Shell, our project partners and the Norwegian government have taken the final investment decision on the Northern Lights CCS project. This transformative project aims to become the first carbon storage facility with capacity to transport and store CO₂ from industrial facilities in Norway and potentially from across Europe.

In 2020, Shell invested around $70 million in CCS. This included progressing opportunities and operating costs for CCS assets in which Shell has an interest. We seek to have access to 25 million tonnes of CO₂ per annum of CCS capacity by 2035 – equal to 25 CCS facilities the size of our Quest project, or around 20% of the capacity of all CCS projects being studied around the world today.

Shell has a target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner, in step with society. Becoming a net-zero emissions energy business is a huge task. The business plans we have today will not get us there. So, our plans must change over time.

That is one of the many reasons why we are actively growing our portfolio of low-carbon energy solutions and continue to invest in a wide range of renewables energies such as wind and solar, new mobility options such as electric vehicle charging and hydrogen, and an interconnected power business that will provide electricity to millions of homes, companies and businesses. Find out more about our renewables and energy solutions business.

But there is no one answer to achieving net-zero emissions. Most climate scientists are clear that using technology to store carbon plays an important role in the transition of the energy system. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 1.5°C scenarios show that even when the energy system reaches net-zero emissions, there will be residual emissions because some sectors and end users will not be able to eliminate the use of hydrocarbons. Some of these residual emissions will need to be stored. This is where CCS has a part to play.