Video transcript: The CarbonNet project Advancing CCS for Victoria

The CarbonNet project - Advancing CCS for Victoria

The CarbonNet project - Advancing CCS for Victoria

[Vision: Aerial view of the ocean off the coast of Gippsland. Aerial view of rolling hills in Gippsland.]

Carbon capture and storage, or CCS, is an effective way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

It is key to climate change action and helping us to meet emissions targets.

[Vision: A representative of the Earth’s layers with multiple levels of rock. It shows an example of a reservoir used to store carbon dioxide 1km below the Earth’s surface. The surface layer is split into an onshore component and offshore component. The onshore component displays an illustration of a capture site, connection point and an onshore pipeline. The offshore component displays an illustration of an offshore pipeline and a geological storage reservoir.]

CCS works by capturing carbon dioxide emissions, or CO2, at the source of production.

The gas is then compressed, transported via an underground pipeline to a suitable geological storage site and injected into rock layers deep underground.

Porous layers of sandstone act like a sponge to store the CO2, while the impermeable rock layers form the barriers which will permanently trap it - similar to the way oil and gas has been stored naturally for millions of years.

[Vision: Vision zooms out to a map of the world with a label pointing to the USA displaying 8000kms of existing CO₂ pipeline.]

CCS is a proven technology that has been in safe operation globally for more than 40 years. There are over 8,000km of CO2 pipelines in North America today.

Around the world 35 commercial-scale facilities are underway, capturing CO2 from industries such as natural gas processing and power generation, and the production of iron and steel, hydrogen, ethanol and fertilisers.

[Vision: Vision of a map of the world. Each operating CCS project lights up as a dot on the map in time with a counter counting to 35 facilities.]

A further 218 facilities are in different stages of development, all with an aim to accelerate the decarbonisation of industry.

[Vision: A man inputting data into a tablet. A person flicking the switch on an electrical board. An image of the welcome sign at the CO2CRC Otway National Research Facility. Graphical representation of a ship on water which is carrying hydrogen.]

CCS is now seen as a critical technology to meet net-zero targets globally.

[Vision: Aerial view of waves along with coast. Close up view of waves in the ocean.]

The CarbonNet Project is progressing the development of a CCS hub in Victoria’s Gippsland region.

[Vision: Graphical representation of a pipeline moving from onshore to offshore. Image of rock layers displaying a reservoir 1.5km below the Earth’s surface.]

A 100km pipeline will transport carbon dioxide emissions from industrial facilities in the Latrobe Valley, and store them more than 1,500 metres under the seabed in Bass Strait.

[Vision: Representation of a pipeline running from the Latrobe Valley to the Pelican site, offshore of Gippsland.]

CarbonNet has undertaken extensive studies of potential CO2 storage sites, including the Pelican site offshore in the Gippsland basin.

[Vision: Graphical representation of the Pelican storage site with different colours showing the different depths of rock. Vision of cars driving along a freeway.]

Pelican is large enough to store at least six million tonnes of CO2 per year for 30 years. That’s the equivalent of CO2 emissions from around one million petrol cars every year that it operates.

[Vision: Aerial view of a ship moving through water. Close up view of a ship with a helipad on the back. Close up images of rock samples. Vision of a drilling rig in the ocean.]

CarbonNet has confirmed the suitability of Pelican for CO2 storage, including the collection of rock samples to assess their ability to hold the CO2 in place.

[Vision: A man showing a colleague a graphical representation of the Pelican storage site on a computer screen.]

Ten years of investigation has provided confidence that the CO2 storage will be permanent and safe.

[Vision: Four cows in a paddock. A man walking up to and using a monitoring system in a field in Gippsland.]

The environment is at the heart of the CarbonNet Project.

We're working with some of Australia’s leading research organisations to test and validate atmospheric, land and ocean monitoring technology ahead of any carbon storage project in Bass Strait.

[Vision: A crew on a ship pulling a monitoring system out of the ocean.  Map of the world with markers for all the current operating CCS facilities.]

The technology will be relevant not only to Australia but has also informed best practice offshore CCS monitoring in shallow marine environments globally.

[A pie chart with CO₂ storage in the centre and transport, fertiliser, industry and heating as segments on the outer ring.]

As CarbonNet proceeds to commercialisation it will decarbonise industries in Victoria, such as fertiliser production and clean hydrogen. CarbonNet will also enable negative emissions industries such as bioenergy and direct air capture.

Delivery of CarbonNet will support industry transition and diversification in the Gippsland region, boosting jobs and increasing investment into the state.

[Aerial view of waves in the ocean. CarbonNet logo. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions logo.]

CarbonNet– leading Victoria and Australia into a net-zero future.