Carbon capture, utilization, and storage in China's high-emission industries: Optimal deployment under carbon neutrality goals

The Coal-fired power plants (CFPPs), Iron & Steel Industry (ISI), and Cement Industry (CI), the three high-emission industries, account for about 70 % of China's total carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, facing significant challenges in carbon reduction. Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) is the foundational technology in high-emission industries' achieving carbon neutrality. This paper first investigated 3137 CFPPs, 2025 cement plants, and 392 steel plants, assessed their suitability for CCUS retrofitting. Secondly, the Industry-CCUS model was constructed to identify CCUS deployment plans for high-emission industries under different scenarios. Finally, a comprehensive analysis and prioritized clusters for CCUS deployment in China's high-emission industries are provided. The result shows that when the carbon reduction demand for CCUS reaches 1.444 billion tons per year, requires 658 CFPPs, 101 steel plants, and 357 cement plants to be CCUS-deployed before 2045. Total investment of 31.247 billion USD, with the investment costs for the three high-emission industries being 19.686 billion, 7.187 billion, and 4.374 billion USD, respectively. It is necessary to establish two CCUS cluster areas nationwide, recommended to Jinan and Shenyang. The research provides data support for the optimized deployment of CCUS in high-emission industries, offers a theoretical basis for carbon reduction in China's high-emission industries.