oa Exploring the Economic Scalability of European CCUS Clusters

CCUS is a key negative-emission technology to mitigate climate change. To evaluate the economic scalability of CCUS clusters, this study introduces the Feasibility and Economic Scalability for European Clustered CCUS Model (FEEC-CCUS). The model is underpinned by a comprehensive database of European CCUS facilities, projects, hubs, and clusters, encompassing 310 CCUS projects across 10 combustion-related sectors such as power and heat, cement, iron and steel, hydrogen or ammonia, etc., and 59 CCUS hubs capturing or planning to capture 157 Mtpa of CO2. Key project types include capture, transport, CCU, and full-chain initiatives. The data was meticulously gathered from reports, academic papers, white papers, and media articles. FEEC-CCUS integrates emission, transport, storage, and cost modules to conduct detailed techno-economic analyses. It generates marginal abatement cost curves for CO2 capture, transport, and storage, highlighting the cost-effectiveness of clustering. Results show that most projects achieve a 90% capture rate, with an average estimated capacity of 0.97 Mt CO2/Mt. The average capture cost is 104 USD/tCO2, or 91 USD/tCO2 excluding direct air capture, while the average transport and storage cost is 28 USD/tCO2. By adopting a flexible multi-level data framework, this study demonstrates that CCUS clusters can significantly enhance economies of scale.