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Assessing the cost reduction potential of CCUS cluster projects of coal-fired plants in Guangdong Province in China

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Abstract

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) have garnered extensive attention as a target of carbon neutrality in China. The development trend of international CCUS projects indicates that the cluster construction of CCUS projects is the main direction of future development. The cost reduction potential of CCUS cluster projects has become a significant issue for CCUS stakeholders. To assess the cost reduction potential of CCUS cluster projects, we selected three coal-fired power plants in the coastal area of Guangdong as research targets. We initially assessed the costs of building individual CCUS projects for each plant and subsequently designed a CCUS cluster project for these plants. By comparing individual costs and CCUS cluster project costs, we assessed the cost reduction potential of CCUS cluster projects. The results show that the unit emission reduction cost for each plant with a capacity of 300 million tonnes per year is 392.34, 336.09, and 334.92 CNY/tCO2. By building CCUS cluster project, it could save 56.43 CNY/tCO2 over the average cost of individual projects (354.45 CNY/tCO2) when the total capture capacity is 9 million tonnes per year (by 15.92%). Furthermore, we conducted a simulation for the scenario of a smaller designed capture capacity for each plant. We found that as the capture scale increases, the cost reduction potential is higher in the future.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported by funds from the Department of Education of Guangdong Province (No. 2021KQNCX143), the National Social Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21AGJ009) and the Research Base of Carbon Neutral Finance for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao (No. 22ATJR03).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Muxin Liu & Hailin Lan

  2. Research Center of Chinese Corporate Strategic Management, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Muxin Liu & Hailin Lan

  3. Research Base of Carbon Neutral Finance for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou, 510800, China

    Yueze Zhang & Feifei Huang

  4. Beijing Institute of Geological Survey, Beijing, 100195, China

    Yueze Zhang

  5. School of Economics, Guangzhou City University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510800, China

    Feifei Huang

  6. UK-China (Guangdong) CCUS Centre, Guangzhou, 510440, China

    Xi Liang & Changyou Xia

  7. Bartlett School, University College London, London, WC1E6BT, UK

    Xi Liang

Authors
  1. Muxin Liu
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  2. Yueze Zhang
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  3. Hailin Lan
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  4. Feifei Huang
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  5. Xi Liang
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  6. Changyou Xia
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Correspondence to Muxin Liu or Yueze Zhang.

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Liu, M., Zhang, Y., Lan, H. et al. Assessing the cost reduction potential of CCUS cluster projects of coal-fired plants in Guangdong Province in China. Front. Earth Sci. 17, 844–855 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-022-1030-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-022-1030-1

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