- Australian carbon capture is supported by minister Angus Taylor who announced a large fund offering projects up to $50 million
- Carbon capture and utilization technology attracts government attention with its costs cutting potential
- Companies like MCI have been invited to apply for the grants
The Australian Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor launched a Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) Fund on March 1st. The fund is a $50 million support for carbon capture technologies. Some of the areas include projects that reuse carbon dioxide emissions to make new products.
[youtube-feed]Mr Taylor formally launched the CCUS fund while speaking at the plant at the University of Newcastle’s Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER). He encouraged companies such as Mineral Carbonation International (MCI) to apply for grants. The fund is now open to applicants until March 29th 2021.
Australian Carbon Capture And Utilization Support
The incentive marks the biggest local government support ever provided for the carbon capture and utilization technology. It hopes to boost the progress of CCUS projects towards commercial operations. The focus on those that transform CO2 into economically viable products.
“We have smart people who can solve hard problems and that’s ultimately what is going to get emissions down and strengthen the world economy at the same time” said Mr Taylor. He shares a motive for the support towards the CCU group: the reduction of costs as CO2 could be reused.
MCI says it needs the funds to build a scaled-up version of the Newcastle plant. Such a move can prove the commercial viability of the concept. The Newcastle plant is the first carbon reactor to produce a range of carbonate products for the construction sector from industrial CO2 emissions.
The Australian carbon capture industry needs this government initiative. The goal is to reduce technical and commercial barriers to deploy its technologies and thus develop economic solutions to curbing dangerous emissions.
