Is hyperscaler demand finally giving CCS its moment?

Is hyperscaler demand finally giving CCS its moment?

Carbon capture and storage has long been framed as a clean technology that’s forever five years away. Bridget van Dorsten speaks with Tim Vail, CEO of ION Clean Energy, to explore why a surge in AI data-centre demand is reshaping the market for decarbonised gas – and how viable a solution it really is.

Tim argues we’ve entered a buyer-led era for carbon capture, driven by hyperscalers like Amazon, Google and Microsoft who need 24/7 power fast - but are still committed to climate and decarbonization goals. That creates a new question for the energy transition: can natural gas + CCS deliver competitive renewable energy-level carbon intensity, while supporting grid resilience and scaling quickly enough for near-term energy projects?

A big part of the conversation is about measurement and credibility. Tim explains how “carbon intensity” has to be assessed across the full value chain - from wellhead to electrons - including methane leakage. The rise of methane monitoring (ground, aircraft and satellite) and verification systems are helping utilities and buyers prove emissions performance, which is increasingly essential for energy finance, green finance, and corporate reporting. How does it work?

Plus, Tim and Bridget debate the economics. Hyperscalers don’t buy “dollars per ton of CO₂ captured” - they buy power. Tim breaks down what CCS can add on a $/MWh basis, how incentives like the US 45Q tax credit can influence the cost, and why execution (getting projects financed and to final investment decision) is now the real bottleneck. Along the way, Bridget and Tim place CCS in the broader clean firm competition set, including nuclear, hydrogen, geothermal, and solar energy plus batteries, and what this means for future energy predictions and energy policy.

The big question: is CCS at last moving from concept to commercial scale - not because the chemistry suddenly changed, but because demand, verification, and project finance finally might be aligning?


About Interchange Recharged

Interchange Recharged is the Wood Mackenzie podcast exploring the technologies, markets and energy policy decisions shaping the future of energy - from clean tech and clean technology to infrastructure, grid resilience, and the financing models behind the next wave of decarbonisation.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(352)

Thorium’s nuclear pitch: Can molten salt reactors cut cost, use waste, and scale faster than conventional designs?

Thorium’s nuclear pitch: Can molten salt reactors cut cost, use waste, and scale faster than conventional designs?

Electricity demand is rising, capital is tightening, and nuclear is back in the conversation as utilities, governments, and large power users look for firm low-carbon supply. But the central question ...

25 Aug 39min

The inverter security turn: How Europe and the US are redrawing solar procurement around Chinese hardware

The inverter security turn: How Europe and the US are redrawing solar procurement around Chinese hardware

Solar demand remains strong, storage is scaling fast, and inverter technology is becoming more central to how modern power systems actually function. But the conversation around inverters is no longer...

11 Aug 38min

Why biomining might finally work: How Endolith is using microbes and data to unlock more copper from low-grade ore

Why biomining might finally work: How Endolith is using microbes and data to unlock more copper from low-grade ore

Copper is moving from background commodity to frontline constraint. Demand is rising fast, high-grade deposits are getting harder to find, and the lead times for bringing new supply online remain brut...

28 Juli 35min

Bigger turbines, bigger consequences: how wind is rethinking risk, insurance, and predictive maintenance

Bigger turbines, bigger consequences: how wind is rethinking risk, insurance, and predictive maintenance

Wind remains fundamentally healthy: electricity demand is rising, decarbonised power is still needed, and both Europe and the US continue to pull new projects forward, albeit for different reasons. Bu...

14 Juli 45min

As racks scale, power must change: The AC-to-DC rethink inside AI factories

As racks scale, power must change: The AC-to-DC rethink inside AI factories

As AI systems scale, the infrastructure challenge is no longer just about chips, models, and software performance. It is increasingly about the physical systems that allow computation to happen at all...

30 Juni 33min

Handing back the mic: Six months of data center reality, from Bragawatts to behind-the-meter, and the questions still open

Handing back the mic: Six months of data center reality, from Bragawatts to behind-the-meter, and the questions still open

A year ago the data centre conversation was about scale. Increasingly it is about what happens when the announcements meet the physical grid. New capacity is being announced at roughly 435 megawatts a...

16 Juni 43min

The grid's missing operating system: Why a $100,000 AI controller could defer trillions in hardware and why utilities won't buy it

The grid's missing operating system: Why a $100,000 AI controller could defer trillions in hardware and why utilities won't buy it

The energy transition conversation focuses on what connects to the grid. Far less attention goes to whether anyone is coordinating what those assets do once connected. AI training runs swing hundreds ...

2 Juni 43min

The grid's immune system is retiring: Synchronous condensers, AI data centers and the physics gap that software alone can't close

The grid's immune system is retiring: Synchronous condensers, AI data centers and the physics gap that software alone can't close

As coal and gas plants retire, the energy transition conversation focuses on replacing their generation capacity. What gets far less attention is the loss of the physical properties those machines pro...

19 Maj 1h 2min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

framgangspodden
rss-jossan-nina
varvet
rss-borsens-finest
badfluence
avanzapodden
uppgang-och-fall
svd-tech-brief
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
lastbilspodden
fill-or-kill
borsmorgon
tabberaset
24fragor
rikatillsammans-om-privatekonomi-rikedom-i-livet
bathina-en-podcast
rss-kort-lang-analyspodden-fran-di
rss-dagen-med-di
rss-hos-psykologen
kapitalet-en-podd-om-ekonomi