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New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
Repurposing infrastructure for the energy transition
17/4/2024
8 min read
Costly and time-intensive to build, infrastructure is a key challenge of the energy transition. Repurposing existing infrastructure such as pipelines to transport alternative fuels such as CO2 or hydrogen can help accelerate the transition while reducing cost and waste. However, repurposing infrastructure is not without its challenges. For both CO2 and hydrogen, repurposing must be demonstrated not to compromise safety. New Energy Institute (EI) technical guidance aims to assist industry in this regard, write the EI’s Technical Manager, CCUS, Eva Leinwather and Technical Officer, Energy Transition, Chimwemwe Kamwela.
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen are low-carbon technologies with the potential to reduce net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribute to reaching the goal of net zero.
While CCUS in particular remains contested for its potential contribution to maintaining the status quo of fossil fuel dominance, net zero pathways developed by organisations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) show the need for both technologies and their increased deployment by and beyond 2050. In particular, this applies to the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors such as industry.
Political willingness to support the drive towards technically- and commercially-viable CCUS and hydrogen deployment in the industrial sector has wavered over the years, but has been revived with examples such as the European Union’s Net-Zero Industry Act and the US’ Inflation Reduction Act.