PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The federal government has announced the six new carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) projects that will share A$50-million in funding.

Oil and gas major Santos has been awarded up to A$15-million in funding towards the low-cost capture and storage of carbon (CCS) emitted from its Moomba liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations for permanent storage in the Cooper basin, South Australia.

Santos has previously flagged a final investment decision on its Moomba CCS project for the second half of this year.

The proposed Moomba CCS project, in South Australia, will capture the 1.7-million tonnes of carbon dioxide currently separated from natural gas each year at the Moomba gas plant and re-inject it into the same geological formations that have safely and permanently held oil and gas in place for tens of millions of years.

Meanwhile, Mineral Carbonation International has been awarded up to A$14.6-million towards the construction of a mobile demonstration plant that captures and uses carbon to produce manufacturing and construction materials, such as concrete, plasterboard and fire-retardant materials on Kooragang Island, New South Wales, while Energy Developments has been awarded up to A$9-million towards the capture and use of carbon emitted from the production of biomethane at landfill sites at multiple locations across Australia for use in cement carbonation curing.

Carbon Transport and Storage Company has also been awarded up to A$5-million to demonstrate the viability of CCS from a coal-fired power station in Queensland and support the development of a geological storage basin in the Surat basin, while Corporate Carbon Advisory has been awarded up to A$4-million towards Australia’s first demonstration of a direct-air-capture and storage project to geologically sequester carbon in an existing injection well in Moomba, South Australia.

Boral Limited has also been awarded up to A$2.4-million towards 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.

Together, these projects will create close to 470 direct jobs and deliver A$412-million of investment, much of this in regional areas. 

Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the overwhelming demand for funding through the CCUS Development Fund was further proof of the viability and importance of carbon capture technologies.

“We received funding applications to support A$1.2-billion of investment in carbon capture projects and technologies,” Taylor said.

“The projects we have supported through this programme include a number of exciting, Australian-first technology demonstrations.

“Analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA) 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. The IEA and Intergovernmetnal Panel on Climate Change both regard carbon capture technologies as essential to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

“Australia already has the world’s largest carbon capture facility of its kind, and this is one of five priority areas for future investment under the Government’s Technology Investment Roadmap.”

The CCUS Development Fund is part of the government’s A$1.9-billion new energy technologies package announced as part of the Budget which will include resourcing to support the development of a CCS method for the Emissions Reduction Fund, which is expected to be completed later this year.