The large-scale production of low-carbon hydrogen is central to Australia’s energy transformation, enabling Australia to become a global leader in export by 2030, whilst powering domestic decarbonisation. Although low-carbon hydrogen technologies for production, storage and distribution are available, high costs continue to pose a major challenge and the technologies are still evolving.
There is broad scientific agreement that carbon capture and storage (CCS) will play an essential role in achieving internationally agreed climate goals. This is reflected in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which includes CCS as one of the CO₂ reduction options within its mitigation pathways . Development and diffusion of CCS/CCUS projects have been slow, below expectations and plans. However, recent years have seen a substantial increase in scholarly work focused on the industrial use of CCUS along with a surge in CCS project announcements.
This project focuses on working with industry partners to help them establish and strengthen their social licence to operate (SLO) CCUS technologies. Research demonstrates that SLO in CCUS technologies is determined by various factors. This project seeks to understand how levels of awareness, knowledge and perception of CCS/CCUS influence community acceptance; to identify the factors that drive these perceptions; and to evaluate how these factors affect the potential for scaling up CCS/CCUS in Australia. A qualitative approach will be adopted for this project, involving stakeholder interviews with decision-makers and focus group discussions with community members living near CCS/CCUS sites.
Partners: Curtin University, BP Australia Pty Ltd
Researchers: Dr Lydia Maketo
Duration: 1 year