Opportunities for CO2 utilisation in the Northern Territory

Abstract

The Northern Territory (NT) aims to grow the gross state product to $40 billion by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050. Alongside other carbon abatement approaches, CO2 utilisation technologies have the potential to enable the development of a low-emission manufacturing industry that can support the NT’s decarbonisation and economic growth targets. CO2 utilisation is the process of using CO2, captured from industrial emissions or directly from the atmosphere, to produce valuable products. The Northern Territory is relatively well positioned to deploy CO2 utilisation technologies due to the local established natural gas industry, export links with the Asia-Pacific region and high renewable electricity potential. This report explores the potential to deploy five CO2 utilisation opportunities in the NT: methanol, jet fuel, urea, methane, and mineral carbonates. Techno-economic analysis of the levelised cost of production for each of these products found that they are not cost competitive with conventional products. However, cost reductions are expected as the relevant technologies mature. The full report discusses potential scale-up pathways for each application. Commercial-scale CO2 utilisation will require orders of magnitude increases in the scale of CO2 sources, renewable hydrogen, and renewable electricity. CSIRO is collaborating with industry and government partners to develop a business case for a Northern Territory Low Emissions Hub with a particular focus on carbon capture, utilisation, and storage. This abstract provides the high-level finding from the full public report, which is one input into the development of this business case.