How does Carbon Capture and Storage work?

Carbon Capture and Storage is an innovative technology used to reduce CO2 emissions from large industrial sources. It works by collecting CO2 from the atmosphere, transporting it safely underground, and then permanently storing it there.

CO2 captured is first purified, then compressed into liquid or gaseous forms for transport via existing pipelines, ships or road vehicles. Once at its storage location it is then injected into geological formations such as saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas fields or basalt formations for long-term storage.

There are currently over 200 projects worldwide that use geological storage methods to capture and store CO2. Furthermore, companies and labs are exploring ways to use CO2 for other products like plastics, building materials, fuels or even futuristic ones such as graphene; these may help offset some of the costs of CCS. Other strategies could be employed such as carbon taxes or legal limits on how much CO2 industries emit.