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This report reviews Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies, including Direct Air Capture, BECCS, biochar, and ocean storage. It highlights cost-reduction, digital optimization, and blockchain in carbon markets. Despite challenges in scale and regulation, especially in Kenya, the report calls for supportive policies, investment, and collaboration to maximize CCS impact.
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This report provides a comprehensive overview of emerging Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies and their role in combating climate change. With growing urgency to achieve net-zero emissions, innovations such as Direct Air Capture (DAC), Bioenergy with CCS (BECCS), and carbon mineralization are gaining traction. The report examines both existing and advanced carbon capture methods, emerging storage solutions, and the integration of blockchain for carbon credit markets. While challenges like cost, scalability, and public perception persist, continued investment, supportive policies, and interdisciplinary collaboration are driving CCS towards practical, impactful deployment.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies are critical tools for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially in hard-to-decarbonize sectors. CCS involves capturing CO₂ at emission sources or directly from the atmosphere, transporting it, and storing it underground or utilizing it in industrial processes. The growing interest in CCS is driven by global climate targets, such as net-zero emissions by 2050. While traditional CCS methods focus on post-combustion capture and geological storage, recent innovations explore more efficient and diverse approaches. These include cryogenic separation, chemical looping, and advanced capture materials. The background highlights the importance of CCS in the broader strategy to mitigate climate change and transition towards a circular carbon economy.
Capture – CO₂ is removed at sources like power, cement, and steel plants, mainly via amine-based chemical scrubbing. Most current carbon capture projects use a liquid to chemically remove the CO2 before it goes out the smokestack, but several new types of capture processes are under development.
Transport – Captured CO₂ is compressed so it becomes liquid-like and transported (usually via pipelines).
Storage – pumped more than 2,500 feet down wells into geological formations like used-up oil and gas reservoirs, as well as formations that contain unusable, salty water.
To significantly impact climate change, most captured CO₂ must be stored underground. However, using CO₂ to create marketable products can help lower capture costs and encourage investment.
Though most CO₂ must be stored, a small portion (less than 10%) can be used for:
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) – Injecting CO₂ into active oil reservoirs in order to recover more oil.
Industrial use – Making products like plastics, fuels, baking soda, concrete, or growing algae for biofuels and fertilizer, but they require large amounts of carbon-free energy, making the costs too high to be competitive today.
Pure CO2 is also used in greenhouses to grow plants
Direct Air Capture (DAC) – Pulls CO₂ directly from air. Notable players: Climeworks, Heirloom Carbon Technologies, Global Thermostat & The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) – Burns biomass for energy and captures resulting CO₂, offering “negative emissions.” This technology has the potential to remove significant amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere while also providing a renewable source of energy.
Smart grids and energy-efficient appliances help reduce carbon emissions by optimizing energy use and cutting household CO₂ footprints. While promising, these technologies aren't standalone solutions. Continued investment, collaboration, and integration with renewable energy and carbon capture efforts are essential for a sustainable, low-carbon future.
Post-Combustion Capture: This method separates CO2 from the exhaust gases of power plants and industrial facilities after combustion.
Pre-Combustion Capture: CO2 is removed from fuel before it's burned, often used in industrial processes.
Others include: Oxy-Fuel Combustion, Carbon Sinks, Cryogenic separation, Chemical looping combustion, Adsorption, Membrane Separation
Biochar – Charcoal-like material from biomass that stores carbon in soil for centuries.
Enhanced Weathering – Crushed minerals like basalt absorb CO₂ naturally, forming stable carbonates.
Ocean Storage: Forming CO2 hydrates (ice-like structures) in the ocean, potentially using seawater and magnesium as a catalyst.
Geological Storage: CO2 is injected into deep underground formations like saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas reservoirs, where it is trapped by surrounding rock layers.
Saline Aquifers: These are porous, sedimentary rocks saturated with saltwater, offering large storage potential.
Others include: Depleted Oil and Gas Reservoirs, Mineral Carbonation, Terrestrial Storage, Calcium Looping (CaL).
Blockchain technology is revolutionizing carbon offsetting by enabling the tokenization of carbon credits, which creates digital assets on a transparent, tamper-proof ledger. This enhances efficiency, traceability, and market accessibility.
Tokenized credits can be traded on decentralized exchanges like Klima DAO and MCO2, reducing reliance on intermediaries and boosting market liquidity.
Use cases include programmed royalties for project developers, forward-financed tokens to fund new projects, DeFi integration for earning yield or using credits as collateral, and gamification to engage users in climate action through virtual platforms and games.
High capital costs and limited financing: CCS projects require significant upfront investment, which is difficult to secure in Kenya due to competing national priorities like energy access, health, and education. This limits private sector interest and government ability to fund CCS.
Scalability: Scaling up CCS technologies to meet the required capacity remains a challenge.
Geological Storage: Ensuring the long-term safety and reliability of geological CO2 storage is essential.
Public Perception: Public acceptance and support are crucial for the successful deployment of CCS technologies.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Successful deployment requires collaboration between researchers, engineers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders.
Limited infrastructure and expertise for CO₂ transport and storage: Kenya lacks the advanced pipeline networks and geological mapping required to transport and store captured CO₂ safely and efficiently.
Absence of a legal framework for CCS implementation: Regulatory gap creates uncertainty for potential investors and developers regarding liabilities, monitoring, and compliance standards.
The report examines Kenya’s rural electricity gap and barriers to solar adoption. It highlights PAYG models as key to affordability and proposes two solutions—Solar Ambassadors for local servicing and Solar for Productive Use to power small enterprises—aimed at driving last-mile electrification and rural growth.
The report highlights Kenya’s vast potential to reduce emissions through ocean-based carbon removal but warns that weak technology, poor mapping, and limited innovation hinder progress. It calls for urgent investment in digital monitoring, AI-driven carbon tracking, seaweed farming, and policy reform to unlock blue carbon opportunities, boost climate resilience, and empower coastal communities.
The report reveals that climate change is worsening mental health in Kenya, causing rising depression, anxiety, and trauma among vulnerable groups. It urges integrating mental health into climate policies, expanding community care, and improving data systems to strengthen national resilience.
