Industry majors discuss using Houston as major CCS hub

ELEVEN chemicals, energy, and power companies – including Chevron, Dow, ExxonMobil, and Ineos – are considering large-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) that could capture nearly 75m t/y of CO2 in the US, by 2040.

The companies have agreed to begin discussing plans for capture and safe storage of CO2 to address emissions in one of the largest concentrated sources of industry in the US. Using CCS technology at their Houston facilities, which generate electricity and manufacture everyday products such as plastics, motor fuels, and packaging, the partners could collectively capture and store about 50m t/y of CO2 by 2030. Full implementation of this technology could see an increase to nearly 75m t/y of CO2 capture and storage by 2040.

Other companies in discussions include Calpine, Linde, LyondellBasell, Marathon Petroleum, NRG Energy, Phillips 66, and Valero. Talks are ongoing with other companies that have operations in Houston to enable more CO2 capture, which could help move the city closer to its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.

According to the companies in talks, the wide-scale deployment of CCS in Houston will require the collective support of industry, communities, and government. They expect that with the appropriate policies and regulations, CCS could generate tens of thousands of new jobs, protect existing jobs, and reduce emissions at a lower cost to society than many other widely available technologies.

The companies intend to continue advocating for policies that enable long-term commercial viability of new, expanded, and existing CCS investments in Texas.

Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston, said: “Houston can achieve our net zero goals by working together, and it’s exciting to see so many companies have already come together to talk about making Houston the world leader in carbon capture and storage.”

“We’re reimagining what it means to be the energy capital of the world and applying proven technology to reduce emissions is one of the best ways to get started.”