Interview: CCS to help world rise to energy challenge

• Fossil fuels 'by far most abundant' energy source

Despite environmental concerns, fossil fuels remain the most abundant energy source on the planet, capable of meeting the world's ever-growing demand for energy, according to Bill Spence, Vice President for CO2, and David Hone, climate change adviser at Royal Dutch Shell.

"If we look at all the energy options that are out there – renewables, nuclear and fossil fuels – fossil fuels are by far today the most abundant with a huge potential for the future," the pair said in an interview with EurActiv.

With global energy demand expected to double in the coming decades, they believe technologies that make fossil fuels environmentally acceptable will be crucial. This, they add, is because no alternative source of energy will be able to rise to the challenge alone.    "By 2050, to double the energy that this planet is going to need, we're not convinced we have the choice between energy A or B. We think it's going to have to be both," Spence said.

• Carbon storage: 'a bridging technology'

And until renewables are mature enough to be deployed on the massive scale required, Spence says other options need to be put on the table. "We're looking at renewables growing as fast as we can and still expecting hydrocarbons to carry 60 to 70% of the burden. So, it really isn't about choosing a winner and chasing after it, it's about keeping all the options on the go. And that's where the carbon capture and storage keeps the hydrocarbon option on the go."

According to Spence, CCS is "a bridging technology" that can address the environmental concern of fossil fuels until other, cleaner energy options reach maturity.

"We need to realise that - even in 20, 25 years - to get 10% wind and solar into the economy, that is a five to six-fold growth. That is enormous. Very few industries have been able to achieve that."   "So in a nutshell, CCS is a bridging technology and it will be a very significant piece of the bridging."

The comment echoes recent statements by Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer over the "hard truths" that he said dictate the world's energy future. Van der Veer referred in particular to China and India, where coal is expected to cover a large part of their huge and ever-growing energy needs. "In our battle against greenhouse gas emissions, taking the CO2 out of fossil fuels, especially coal, is crucial," Van der Veer wrote in an editorial for The Times newspaper earlier this year. 

• Integrating CCS in the EU emissions trading scheme

But when it comes to the nitty-gritty of how to integrate CCS into policy proposals, expectations are rising fast. Under the Commission's current plans, 12 large-scale demonstration plants that will apply CCS technology mainly to coal-fired power stations are to be launched by 2015.

"What we want to see is a policy that will give us these 10 to 12 demonstration projects into the demonstration phase so that we can test that all of these work at scale," said Spence. "We are looking for a policy that recognises that learning curve and then start to worry about the long-term of the capture and storage."

In the short term, Shell believes CCS can receive further support by being integrated into the EU's emissions trading scheme.

"There are two approaches," says Hone. "One is that if you put the CO2 into the ground, then it is not counted as an emission. The second is to count buried CO2 as an emission but that CCS projects can receive a credit on the EU’s carbon market."

And to make the costly capture and storage process worthwhile, Hone says CCS emissions should at least receive double credits. 

"In these early days, we may want a credit more than it is worth. So, something like two allowances for one tonne [of CO2] saved or something like that. Because CCS is a technology that is clearly not mature."

To read the interview in full, please click here.