System Analysis – Methods to Evaluate and Compare the Economics of Ccus Technologies

The objective of this session is to describe various methodologies used to evaluate the cost and performance of carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) technologies and discuss how they might be standardized to permit more meaningful comparisons among different studies. Major topics include design basis specifications, definition of cost and performance metrics, and techniques for assessing economic feasibility. Questions that may be addressed include: - What aspects of a design basis could be standardized for CCUS studies: ambient conditions, fuel specifications, capacity factors, finance structures, carbon dioxide purity, emergency venting, storage/utilization specifications, etc.? How might a standard design basis be complicated by environmental regulations that vary internationally? - Commonly used terms and metrics are frequently defined differently across studies, e.g., capital costs, operating and maintenance costs, cost of electricity, cost of capturing/avoiding CO2. Can definitions for these terms be standardized? - What are the most frequently used methods to calculate metrics that measure economic performance, such as cost of electricity and cost of avoiding carbon dioxide emissions? How do techniques differ between retrofit applications and greenfield plants? How should carbon dioxide utilization opportunities be factored into economic evaluations, e.g., selling carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery? - What techniques should be used when assessing conceptual or non-commercial technologies? How should process contingencies and learning curves be applied? How should developmental cost targets, first-of-a-kind costs, and nth-of-a-kind costs be related and compared