Abstract:
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology serves as a foundational solution for achieving the temperature control goals of the Paris Agreement and net-zero emissions targets. The global CCS industry has entered a phase of accelerated technological application and development. Major countries and regions, including the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Japan, have established distinctive industrial development pathways based on their respective legal and economic foundations. Under the guidance of China’s carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals and its “1+N” policy framework, the domestic CCS industry has advanced through demonstration projects, transitioning from small-scale pilots to large-scale industrial demonstrations, with the capability to execute million-ton projects. However, gaps remain compared to international advanced levels in key areas such as core technologies and equipment, project scale, commercialization, cost competitiveness, and policy frameworks. From the perspective of realizing the CCS value chain, this paper innovatively divides the CCS industry chain into nine key segments, sequenced from downstream to upstream: carbon credit market trading, third-party verification and certification of CCS projects, development of CCS technical standards, CCS project monitoring, carbon storage, carbon transportation, carbon capture, ownership definition of subsurface space resources for carbon storage, and survey and evaluation of subsurface space resources for carbon storage. The analysis highlights challenges facing China’s CCS industry, including insufficient survey and evaluation of subsurface space resources for carbon storage, lagging ownership definition and regulation, technological gaps in post-combustion capture, storage, and pipeline transportation, inadequate monitoring techniques, immature standard systems, underdeveloped monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) mechanisms, and an underdeveloped carbon market. In particular, significant shortcomings exist in the regulatory framework for subsurface resources and trading systems for carbon credit products. Future efforts should focus on the areas such as survey and evaluation of subsurface space resources for carbon storage, development mechanisms and policy frameworks for the CCS industry, breakthroughs in key technologies, and promoting innovation in the carbon trading market. Through multi-stakeholder collaboration, the sustainable development of the CCS industry can be advanced, providing robust support for carbon emission reduction.