Australian Government launches Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute

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The organisation and member partners to the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI) was launched in Canberra, Australia by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

The announcement came before two days of meetings designed to set the key objectives for the Institute, and the best way to make Carbon Capture and Storage a commercial reality as soon as possible.

Alstom is a founding partner of the GCCSI, and is proud to have Nick Otter, a former Director of Technology and External Affairs with Alstom, acting as the Interim CEO of the Institute. The meetings were opened and closed by Martin Ferguson, Minister for Resources and Energy.

“We have no more time to Waste”– Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister

The announcement by the Hon. Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia covered Australia’s commitment to commercialising CCS as soon as possible. PM Rudd called the drive for CCS as important as the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century and the Information Revolution of the 20th century. PM Rudd also emphasised the global support and involvement in the Institute that was already being manifested, and exemplified by the partnerships between major countries, companies and institutions.

Attendees to the meeting included Government embassies such as France, Italy, Japan, technology specialists such as Alstom, NGOs such as the Climate Group and the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum, and representatives from the Australian Coal industry.
There are currently 81 Members for the institute, including the UK, USA, France, Germany, South Africa, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Indonesia, the Asian Development Bank, the Japanese Bank for international Cooperation and organisations such as the Clinton Foundation, The Climate Group, the University College of London, and the World Coal Institute.

“The clock is ticking”– Nick Otter, Interim CEO of GCCSI

The Prime Minister introduced Nick Otter as former Alstom Power executive, and thanked the room for their cooperation and enthusiasm for the Institute.

“The objective of the institute is to identify all the links in the CO2 value chain and set priorities for which of those links need to be addressed” said Nick. “It supports the legislative, R&D, financing and Infrastructure challenges at a global scale. Its current focus is to establish alliances between governments, NGOs, technologists, the financial world and industry. The GCCSI will identify the best 20 projects which require support and aims to announce them by next year.”

Nick Otter’s speech emphasised the intense time pressure we are facing in order to get the technology up and running. The GCCSI must address the integration issue across the CO2 value chain – from capture, transport and storage, financing and legislation. Both Mr Rudd and Mr. Otter emphasised the global nature of the institute and the need for all parties to act together in order to realize the potential CO2 reductions from CCS as quickly as possible.