Public and private sector investments in carbon capture technology are growing rapidly. However, significant improvements in operational performance and costs are still required to secure the levels of development and deployment that will make a real difference to global CO2 levels.
There are a number of challenges on the road to this aspiration. For example, a potentially excessive focus on the power sector may result in lower investment in other sectors with a cumulatively large CO2 impact. In addition, the scale of capture requirements in the power sector are such that only larger technology providers have the credibility and financial muscle required to compete for contracts. This in turn can stifle the development of innovative technologies that have potentially better performance but are unproven at full scale.
When faced with these challenges, how can start-up and scale-up companies compete in the market for CO2 capture technology?