Time line

At the moment the are no full-scale CCS projects that include both capture, transport and storage of CCS, but that is about to change because companies and politicians regards CCS as one of the main tools to combat global warming. A lot of CCS projects are announced, and within the next decade there could be a lot of full-scale CCS projects worldwide. But how do we expect CCS to develop? What are the barriers to overcome, and what are the next most important milestones? Below you will find the history of CCS along with important future milestones.

1970's:

• The US started injecting CO₂ in oil field to enhance oil recovery (EOR).

1996:

• CO2 is separated from natural gas produced from the Sleipner field in the North Sea. The CO₂ is injected into the Utsira formation, a so-called aquifer 800 m below the bottom of the sea. Close to 1 million ton CO₂ is still injected per year.

2004:

• CO₂ injection starts at the In Salah project in Algeria.

2005:

• Australia is the first country to establishes a regulatory framework for CCS.

2007:

• The Weyburn project in Canada: CO₂ is injected into an oil field to increase the oil production (EOR).
• The G8 leaders recommends to build 20 CCS demonstration plants worldwide to accelerate development of CCS technology.

2008:

• April: CO₂ injection starts at the Snøhvit project north of Norway.
• November: The EU CCS Demonstration Programme is launched in the EU. This is a program for building 10-12 CCS demonstration projects by 2015.
• December: The EU Energy Package settled, including a new directive for CO₂ storage and financial mechanism for CCS demonstration projects.

2009:

• December: International climate negotiations in Copenhagen where the aim is to agree on a post-Kyoto agreement. Hopefully, CCS will be included as one of the tools for greenhouse gas emission reduction.

2012-2015:

• A lot of demonstration projects for CCS has already been announced. The projects will be in operation in earliest 2012.

2020:

• The Technology Platform ZEP, established by the European Commissions says that CCS can be commercially viable by 2020.

2050:

• A study published by Bellona in 2007 concluded that CCS can reduce global CO₂ emissions by 1/3 by 2050. Hopefully, this is achieved by 2050.