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China expects more co-op in CCS technology: expert

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-29 11:33

BEIJING - Experts are calling for more cooperation between China and other nations in developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies as institutions from the United Kingdom prepare to announce at the Shanghai Expo the launch of a UK CCS research facility.

The University of Nottingham told Xinhua on Tuesday it would announce the launch of the UK National Center for Carbon Capture and Storage (NCCCS) with the British Geological Survey at the London ZED pavilion on Oct 11.

The launch is part of an event organized by the University of Nottingham to discuss a range of key issues on the technology of CCS around the world, particularly in China.

CCS technologies held great potential to reduce China's carbon emissions, said Jiang Xinmin, researcher at the Energy and Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The UK institutes' decision to announce the launch of the NCCCS in China was seen by Jiang as another response from foreign institutes to China's growing willingness to embrace CCS and seek partnerships.

CCS applied to a modern conventional power plant could reduce the carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by about 80 to 90 percent, Jiang said, citing a special report by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

About 70 percent of China's electricity needs were supplied by coal-fired power plants, but coal generally represented less than half of the energy consumption in most Western countries, Jiang said.

The potential role of CCS technology was boosted by the fact that China lacked the diverse energy portfolio found in countries like the United States, where natural gas was also plentiful, he said.

Mike Stephenson, professor at the NCCCS, said the NCCCS would look to academic institutions, industry partners and other organizations in China for building potential partnerships.

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Participants at the Expo conference, titled Keeping the Engine-Room Clean: CCS in China, will include senior researchers from the Coal Chemistry Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Research Institute of Petroleum & Development (RIPED) of PetroChina, and other institutes with expertise in the field.

Many CCS experts have noted the growing enthusiasm of China's government and the energy industry towards CCS.

Last month saw a significant move by China as the state-owned Shenhua Coal Liquefaction and Chemical Company started to build China's first CCS industrial model program in Erdos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

However, as CCS was one of the most advanced clean technologies, China had a lot to learn from other countries such as the US and the UK, and international cooperation should be stepped up in searching for ways to reduce the cost of CCS and better utilize the stored carbon, said Jiang.

In May 2009, the Chinese Academy of Sciences said in a statement on its website it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Energy Department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and National Energy Technology Laboratory to push research and development efforts in CCS technologies.

In discussions between Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming and US counterpart Gary Lock in Beijing in May, clean technologies, including CCS, were recognized as a key area where cooperation should be strengthened between the two countries.