The Zero Net CO2 Industrial Plant: A Holistic Approach

摘要

Most developed countries are committed, or about to commit, to massive reductions of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including CO_2 emissions. Honoring these commitments requires, or will eventually require, the industrial sector to reduce its carbon emissions. Industrialists need strategies to ensure that they can become low-CO_2 in a cost-effective way, without having to relocate to countries with less stringent carbon regulation (carbon leakage). To meet this challenge, they will have to develop innovative approaches, relying on attractive business models. Building Zero Net CO_2 (ZNC) industrial plants could be one of the most ambitious of theses approaches, and perhaps the one that most industrialized nations will ultimately have to deploy. This article reintroduces the concept of a ZNC industrial plant, and gives some insights about the various levers which can be used to design such a plant. Some examples of existing ZNC industrial plants are given.