Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)

Abstract

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage or BECCS has been a cornerstone technology of emissions trajectories compatible with a 1.5 to 2 °C target since the IPCC fifth assessment report in 2014, owing to its theoretically large carbon removal potential and mitigation value to the energy system. Sustainability concerns around the scale up of bioenergy production, the diversity of potential bioenergy pathways, the emergence of alternative technology-based and/or natural-based carbon removal methods, and local opposition to bioenergy and CCS deployment have however cast uncertainty and confusion over BECCS future as a mitigation and removal technology. This chapter aims at providing key tools to better understand the technology, clarify important metrics to measure its performance, compare potential feedstocks and application in the energy sector, and appreciate its current state of deployment and future prospects.