Estimating the Future Trends in the Cost of CO₂ Capture Technologies
- 1 February 2006
- Capture
- Costs of CCUS
The IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEA GHG) has carried out studies to assess the performance and costs of various plants with CO₂ capture and storage (CCS). These assessments have mostly been based on current technology and component cost data. This approach has the advantage of avoiding subjective judgements of what may or may not happen in the future. The disadvantage is that it does not take into account the potential for future improvements which could affect the long-term competitiveness of a technology.Reductions in the costs of technologies resulting from learning-by-doing and other factors have been systematically observed over many decades. Major factors contributing to cost reductions include, but are not limited to, improvements in technology design, materials, product standardisation, system integration or optimisation, economies of scale and reductions in input prices. This study analyses cost reductions that have been achieved for a range of process technologies and uses that information to predict possible future trends in the costs of power plants with CO₂ capture.
