Proceedings from CCS Cost Workshop - Global CCS Institute

PROCEEDINGS FROM CCS COST WORKSHOPBreakout Session 1A: CO 2 Capture CostsSession Chair: Ed Rubin; Rapporteur: Chris ShortOn the 2 nd day of the workshop, participants split into smaller breakout sessions in order tofurther discuss topics presented on Day 1 and identify needs for follow-up activities andpotentially a CCS costing network.Breakout Session 1a focused on costs for CO 2 Capture. As CCS is considered a moving target aselements of the technology are in development, the breakout group raised a number of concernsrelating to existing cost studies including:• That underlying elements in the cost accounts can vary widely• That transparency is lacking in many models• That the purpose of the model needs to be understood:o Is it concerning current costs?o Is it concerning future costs?o Is it a cost minimization approach by design?o Is it a best performance design?• In what context is ‘cost’ used – market price? Negotiated price?• That CCS is a moving target as elements of the technology are in developmentWith regard to improving the approach, questions raised including:• Can we design a standard model (that is standard performance parameters) againstwhich to identify the range of subsequent cost estimates?• Is there a desire to establish a Costing Network where different models can discuss therange of costs?• Could such a group do a better job of cost aggregation regarding:o transparency; ando standards.• How could the group contribute to improving the information conveyed to policy makers?• How can modelers better incorporate the variability into large scale policy models?• Is there a desire/need for a public model(s)?Overall, it was the group felt a costing network would be useful particularly if it could assist indeveloping an appropriate approach and guidelines. Areas for improvement included sensitivityanalysis, and how to incorporate uncertainty for unknown technologies (eg membranes) vsestablished technologies (such as amines). Issues around consistent nomenclature, as well aswhat is and isn’t included in studies.The group put forward the recommendation that a Costs Network is desirable with the aim ofimproving consistency and transparency in methodology. This was further defined as:• Achieving consistency by:o Identifying a consistent and complete set of cost elements:− nomenclature and definitions;− aggregated and disaggregated; and− incorporating refinements in T&S costings into an integrated CCS costanalysis.12