Abstract

The utilization of CO₂ broadly applies to any process that transforms captured CO₂ into valuable products. These processes strive to achieve any of the following objectives: (1) permanent storage (2) revenue generation and/or (3) avoiding emissions of conventional products with high amounts of embodied carbon. This talk will explore how carbon utilization can be leveraged to help us meet the ambitious gigatonne-scale removal targets proposed by many agencies as necessary to combat climate change by mid-century. Topics covered will include the importance of CO₂ source, temporal aspects of storage, the role of stock vs flux, scaling limitations, economic potential and risk. The significance and mutual dependency of these factors will be illustrated in regional merit-order modeling, as well as select case studies on lifecycle emission assessments. These results inform policymakers, investors and scientists on both the strengths and shortcomings of CCUS as a climate mitigation strategy.