Six companies have been awarded a share in the Government’s $50 million Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) Development Fund to accelerate the development of the technology in Australia.
Among the successful grant applicants is energy company Santos Limited, which secured a $15 million grant for the Moomba carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the Cooper Basin in South Australia.
Santos said the project would safely and permanently store 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year with capacity for up to 20 million tonnes annually across the Cooper Basin.
Canberra-based Mineral Carbonation International will receive up to $14.6 million to build a mobile demonstration plant that captures and uses CO2 to produce manufacturing and construction materials, such as concrete, plasterboard and fire-retardant materials on Kooragang Island, New South Wales.
Energy Developments, which specialises in the development of alternative energy production, secured a $9 million grant towards the capture and use of CO2 emitted from the production of biomethane at landfill sites across multiple locations across Australia for use in cement carbonation curing.
Glencore’s wholly owned subsidiary Carbon Transport and Storage Company will use its $5 million in funding to demonstrate the viability of carbon capture and storage from a coal-fired power station in Queensland and support the development of a geological storage basin in the Surat Basin.
Sydney-based Corporate Carbon Advisory won a $4 million grant towards Australia’s first demonstration of a direct-air-capture (DAC) and storage project to geologically sequester CO2 in an existing injection well in Moomba, South Australia.
Building and construction materials group Boral Limited secured a $2.4 million grant to deliver a pilot scale carbon capture and use project to improve the quality of recycled concrete, masonry and steel slag aggregates at New Berrima, New South Wales.
Making the announcement, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the six projects are expected create close to 470 direct jobs and deliver $412 million of investment, much of this in regional areas.
“The projects we have supported through this program include a number of exciting, Australian-first technology demonstrations,” Minister Taylor noted.
“Analysis by the International Energy Agency shows that half the global reductions required to achieve net zero will come from technologies that are not yet ready for commercial deployment.
“That’s why we’re partnering with industry to accelerate new projects and unlock the emissions and economic benefits of carbon capture technology.”
