Not all CO2 is created equal

Not all CO2 is created equal. Power generation, cement production, steel processes, natural gas processing, and other industrial processes produce different concentration and quality of CO2.

The level of concentration and purity play an important role in the cost of the capture phase for CCUS.

Furthermore, capturing and storing CO2 isn't cost-effective without tax incentives!

Storing CO2 underground requires injection well permits.

To operate your CCUS facility, one of the relevant permissions you need to obtain is an environmental permit from the EPA or a state that has primacy over Class VI wells. There are only two right now from the EPA.

The permit depends on the type and scale of the carbon capture activity, the scale of activity from which the carbon is being captured, and the geologic location where CO2 is sequestered.

The underground sequestration of CO2 requires a Class VI permit.

Class VI wells are used to inject CO2 into deep rock formations. And it requires significantly more technical support and collaborative engagement with the regulators than a Class II permit.

Class VI injection wells are regulated by Federal Requirements under the Underground Injection Control (UIC), the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Program, Geologic Sequestration (GS), the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Wells: Final Rule, and 40 CFR (2010).

The 1200 pages long EPA federal rule requires:

• Maps with technical plume analysis
• Cross-sections
• Additional technical information on the geologic structure
• Hydrogeologic properties of the proposed storage site
• Overlying formations
• Geo-mechanical information on fractures
• Stress, ductility, rock strength, and in-situ fluid pressures within the confining zones.

Furthermore, baseline geochemical data of various subsurface formations and information on the compatibility of CO2 with fluids in the injection zone and minerals in both the injection and confining zones are required.

The Class VI permit requires a substantial amount of work and time. It is taking approximately 24 months to be approved for a Class VI permit. That is why only a couple of these have been completed to date.