MOU Signed between GDCCUSC & UT-Austin, CATF, SCS

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a Teaming Relationship was signed on June 22^nd between The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin), Clean Air Task Force (CATF), Southern Company Services, Inc. (SCS), and Guangdong CCUS Centre (GDCCUSC) Related to Guangdong Offshore Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Project (GOCCUS), China. This collaboration will benefit future efforts in reduction of carbon emissions through capturing CO₂ from power and industrial sources in coastal areas and storing it in offshore sedimentary basins.

Xi Liang, Secretary General, Guangdong CCUS Centre; Scott Tinker, Director, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin; John Thompson, Director of Fossil Transition Project, Clean Air Task Force; and Frank Morton, Southern Company Services, Inc., National Carbon Capture Center signed their names on the MOU which will support the development of integrated offshore CCUS projects in Guangdong Province, China and Texas offshore, U.S.A.

The signing of the MOU is part of the 2015 US-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue VII: US-China Climate Change Working Group “Celebrating Private Sector Engagement and Success” held by U.S. Department of State on June 22^nd in Washington, DC.

“U.S. and China has conducted strategic dialogue on climate change for 7 years and achieve many consensus on the scientificity of climate change. Last year, we announced a joint statement on dealing with climate change which specified each country’s emission reduction goal beyond 2020. The target of this year is to achieve success and a multilateral agreement that can be accepted by all parties on UNCCC held in Paris at the end of year”, Xie Zhenhua, China Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs, said on the celebrating event.

He said, U.S. and China cooperation on climate change is “quite successful”, and hopes this could be a model for climate change cooperation between developing and developed countries.

Todd Stern, U.S. Department of State Special Envoy for Climate Change, said in the opening remarks:” U.S. and China have both consensus and dispute on climate change, but both sides are moving forward.”

Stern believes that the joint statement published last year demonstrate the ability and willingness of both countries to carry out constructive cooperation to tackle climate change. The cooperation between U.S. and China will vigorously promote the bilateral relations between the two countries, and also proving to the world that the two countries can solve problems together.

UT Bureau of Economic Geology

The Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) of UT, has been a leading institution in CCUS research for over a decade, and has one of the largest and most experienced geologic storage research programs in the U.S. BEG has extensive experiences in designing and implementing field demonstration projects in sedimentary formations, including those associated with CO₂Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). BEG’s expertise also includes storage capacity estimation, injection design, monitoring and verification, risk management, and cost estimation.

Southern Company Services, Inc.

Southern Company Services, Inc. (SCS), along with its parent (The Southern Company) and other affiliate companies, comprise a United States investor-owned electric utility engaged in, among other things: the production and sale of electric power; the design, construction and operation of electric power generating stations using coal, nuclear, natural gas and renewable energy sources; and research and development relating to power generation technologies as well as technologies to mitigate the air and water emissions from fossil fuel use, including capture and storage of carbon dioxide.  Pursuant to its Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy, SCS operates a project entitled the “National Carbon Capture Center” located in Wilsonville, Alabama.

Clean Air Task Force

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is a U.S. non-governmental organization that works to help safeguard against the worst impacts of climate change by catalyzing the rapid global development and deployment of low carbon energy and other climate-protecting technologies through research and analysis, public advocacy leadership, and partnership with the private sector. CATF has been working to build U.S. China low-carbon energy and CCUS partnerships for nearly a decade. CATF supports the development of offshore CCUS in Guangdong Province and facilitated the coalition between UT and the Chinese partner.

Guangdong CCUS Centre

GDCCUSC is an open platform to support industrial development, academic cooperation and process design in CCUS, and other near zero emission technologies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution. GDCCUSC is the legal entity of the UK-China (Guangdong) CCUS Centre, which was initiated by Guangdong Electric Power Design Institute (GEDI), UK CCS Research Centre and Scottish CCS, (both based at the University of Edinburgh). GDCCUSC is leading the development of a one million ton scale Guangdong Offshore Carbon, Capture, Utilization and Storage Project (GOCCUS), which includes capturing CO₂ from a conventional power plant with post-combustion capture and the first major offshore CCUS demonstration project in China.