China’s multi-sector-shared CCUS networks in a carbon-neutral vision

Abstract

China's carbon-neutral vision necessitates carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), which is still in its infancy due to inadequate infrastructure and indeterminate technology diffusion. To address the concerns, this study links spatially explicit CO2 source-sink matching with bottom-up energy-environment-economy planning to propose China's multi-sector-shared CCUS networks, with plant-level industrial transfer and infrastructure reuse considered. Nearly 19000-km trunk lines are needed by a capture of 1.74Gt/yr in 2050, with 12-, 16-, 20-, and 24-inch pipelines enjoying the largest share of over 65%. Inspiringly, some CO2 routes accounting for 50% of the total length match well with the rights-of-way for oil and gas pipeline corridors. Regional cost-competitiveness improvement is observed given available offshorestorage, with 0.2Gt/yr redirected to the northern South China Sea. Furthermore, the interprovincial heterogeneity and intersectoral externality of CCUS scaling-up are unveiled, requiring a rational allocation of benefits and costs inherent in the value chains.