Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS): vital for 1.5C, but does it work?
- Start Thursday 29 Nov 2018 4:00pm
- Finish Thursday 29 Nov 2018 5:00pm
- Venue Thom Building Dept Eng Science
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) features prominently in scenarios that deliver the 1.5C target agreed in Paris during the 2015 COP. However, it remains a technology dogged by social, political, and scientific controversy. For some, it is a panacea which permits the reversal of the effects on the climate of fossil fuel combustion. For others, it is reckless gamble, endorsed by those who want to “have their cake and eat it”, potentially breaching planetary boundaries in many directions. During this talk, we will explore some of these concepts from a UK perspective, aiming to understand the conditions under which BECCS can provide sustainable, material and timely removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. Recognising that BECCS also has the potential to act as a power generation technology, we also explore the way in which BECCS may operate in a liberalised electricity market, and gain some insight into the various services it may provide, at what cost, and how those services might be rewarded. Bio: Dr Niall Mac Dowell is a Reader in Energy Systems at Imperial College London, where he currently leads the Clean Fossil and Bioenergy Research Group. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and is on the Executive Board of the IChemE’s Energy Centre, a member of the Technical Working Group of the CCSA and the ZEP on industrial decarbonisation and a member of the UKCCSRC.
Speaker
Dr Niall Mac Dowell is a Reader in Energy Systems at Imperial College London, where he currently leads the Clean Fossil and Bioenergy Research Group. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and is on the Executive Board of the IChemE’s Energy Centre, a member of the Technical Working Group of the CCSA and the ZEP on industrial decarbonisation and a member of the UKCCSRC.