What is carbon capture, usage and storage?

theguardian.com:

The UK government, along with many other governments around the world, is placing a lot of faith in carbon capture and storage, the technology that can keep carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere.

But does it work, and how can we afford it?

The components of CCS have been around for decades now: it’s a group of technologies that can capture the carbon dioxide produced by major factories and power plants – preventing them from reaching the atmosphere and contributing to global heating – then transport them, bury them or reuse them. The key aim is to stop the CO2 escaping into the atmosphere and exacerbating the climate crisis.

In most versions, the preliminary step involves fitting factory chimneys with solvent filters, which trap carbon emissions before they escape. The gas can then be piped to locations where it can be used or stored. Most carbon dioxide will be injected deep underground – where fossil fuel gas comes from in the first place – to be stored where it cannot contribute to the climate crisis. This can be part of a process called “enhanced oil recovery”, where CO2 is pumped into an oilfield to force out the remaining pockets of oil that would otherwise prove difficult to extract.

But some of the CO2 could be used to help make plastics, grow greenhouse plants or even carbonate fizzy drinks.

According to the IEA, CCS projects could reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by almost a fifth and reduce the cost of tackling the climate crisis by 70%. One of the key reasons CCS is necessary is because heavy industry – fertiliser producers, steel mills and cement makers – would be difficult and expensive to adapt to run on cleaner energy.

There are several CCS projects now operating commercially, but nowhere