Utah-Taihu Institute of Environmental Research

The U.S. and China both recognize the benefits of bilateral cooperation in developing carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology to mitigate the emissions from coal-fired power plants. CCS is a process where CO₂ is separated and then captured from power plant flue streams before it enters the atmosphere. The CO₂ is then compressed and stored. Despite developments in renewable energy the United States and China are both dependent on coal power for the foreseeable future , coal accounts for 50 percent and 80 percent of electricity generation respectively. China and the US together are responsible for 40 percent of global CO₂ emissions and collaboration to develop CCS technology that is affordable, safe and clean is key to reducing global carbon emissions. CCS technology is an area where both sides bring complementary capabilities to the effort and cooperation is mutually beneficial. Currently the American side has done more theoretical work and has more technical data, but in the United States, it takes an average of six years to clear regulatory hurdles and construct a test facility. A comparable period in China is roughly two years. The Chinese side is also able to scale up operations at a lower cost. U.S.-China cooperation will permit both sides to adopt regulatory approaches to enable projects to achieve scale more easily when the technology is developed.

UTIER recognizes the importance of developing CCS technology and in 2009 established the China-U.S. Research and Development Center for Carbon Dioxide Capture, Use and Storage. The center is located at Beijing Jiaotong University and students and faculty at Jiaotong University are working with academics in the United States to develop and test new technological developments in Carbon Capture and Storage.