BECCS: Bio-Energy coupled with Carbon Capture and Storage

Lignocellulosic crops such as Miscanthus, Eucalyptus, Poplar, Willow, and Switchgrass are gaining attention as promising feedstocks for renewable energy and carbon-mitigation strategies, especially on marginal lands. Assessing their global yield potentials requires models that go beyond climate drivers alone. Using a global dataset of 3963 yield observations for five species, we developed a high-resolution (5-arc-minute) modeling framework that augments climate with detailed soil and topographic predictors. Among seven machine learning algorithms, Random Forest, Extra Trees, and Gradient Boosting (GB) emerged as top performers. On an independent test set, the best model achieved a root mean square error (RMSE) of 4.8 t DM ha−1 year−1 (across algorithms: 4.7–5.0 t DM ha−1 year−1) and an R2 of 0.67, a moderate error relative to the broad 4–19 t DM ha−1 year−1 spatial yield range. After outlier handling via a two-phase cross-validation procedure, each model was applied globally under current climate and three future scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5). Across scenarios (relative to the 1980–2000 baseline), median absolute yield changes over suitable land are modest (ca. 1–2 t DM ha−1 year−1), yet localized hotspots show gains or losses up to 8 t DM ha−1 year−1. Yields most often increase in presently cool, high-latitude areas and decrease in warmer/drier or edaphically constrained low-latitude regions. We additionally provide a “best-crop” map identifying where each species may offer the most favorable balance between yield and production cost, revealing pronounced geographic variation in suitability. Compared with alternative models based on coarser-resolution datasets, our approach generally yields more conservative estimates, likely reflecting the added constraint from soil and topographic predictors. These results underscore the importance of representing local environmental heterogeneity when predicting energy-crop productivity under climate change.

Recent studies outline markedly different possible decarbonization pathways for civil aviation by 2050. This paper examines how the key assumptions retained in these scenarios (i.e., the posited deployment of sustainable aviation fuels [SAFs], the projected demand trajectory, and the availability of electric and hydrogen-fueled solutions) affect the sector's future emissions of greenhouse gas. Data for 67 recent scenarios from industry-related, academic, institutional, and think tanks/NGO sources are used to perform the analysis. The results shed light on the shared properties of these scenarios. First, we find a clear consensus on the negative impact of SAFs on residual GHG emissions by 2050, conditioning to a high level of SAF penetration. Second, these scenarios posit a smaller decarbonizing power of biomass-based SAF than that of e-fuel. Third, we find signs of authorship bias in some scenarios. This last finding, therefore, raises concerns about the direct use of these scenarios in policymaking.

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are crucial for decarbonizing aviation, but scaling up production faces major challenges. This review emphasizes the need for strategic investments and policies to ensure SAF’s sustainability and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The aim of this work is therefore to assess how the application of dynamic LCA can be facilitated based on: the modelling tool Temporalis, the time dimension of the functional unit, and the contribution of the time dimension to the accuracy of results.

How should negative emissions be accounted for in CCU life cycle assessments? This study highlights key challenges and reveals how methodological choices impact results, proposing a refined approach for consistency in CCU and NET assessments.

As the climate crisis intensifies, global research on carbon removal is accelerating. This study reveals the explosive growth of CDR technologies, the key players driving innovation, and the emerging trends that will shape the future of climate action.

The research performed by Sibylle introduces methodological and practical advancements to improve the assessment of negative emissions from CCU systems. Key methodological contributions include refined approaches for accounting for atmospheric CO2, defining functional units, and managing multifunctionality.

Following the retirement of Jean-Pierre Deflandre and the departure of Olivier Massol from IFP School, the CarMa Chair is entering a new chapter with the appointment of Carlos Andrade and Schenckery Thémistocle as its new co-holders. Both bring a wealth of expertise and a strong commitment to advancing research in carbon management and negative emissions technologies. Their leadership will ensure the continuity of the chair’s mission, fostering innovation and collaboration between academia and industry to tackle the challenges of decarbonization. We extend our gratitude to Jean-Pierre and Olivier for their invaluable contributions and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

The social acceptability of BECCS technology is a very complex phenomenon as national and local contexts shape debates and influence the deployment of this technology. This research highlights key challenges to advance the adoption of this decarbonization solution, including scale, international cooperation, and the need to pair BECCS with other emission reduction strategies. BECCS alone cannot effectively combat climate change.

One effective strategy that can help achieve carbon neutrality in the steel industry is the use of biomass with carbon capture and storage/utilization (BECCS/BECCU).

CarMa had the honor of being interviewed by the Haut Conseil pour le Climat during the preparation of their recommendation report entitled "Avis sur la stratégie de capture du carbone, d'utilisation et de stockage (CCUS)" published in November 2023 just before COP28.

Assessing the role of negative emission technologies for the decarbonization of energy intensive industries using TIMES-EU model.

In July 2023, Romain Presty had the pleasure of attending the IEAGHG International CCS Summer School hosted by the International CCS Knowledge Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Ms. Sibylle Duval-Dachary, with the help of her supervisors, published her first article: “Life cycle assessment of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage systems: Critical review of life cycle inventories”

Siwar Saadaoui joined The CarMa research team on november 21, 2022 when she joined the AgroParisTech / Cired team under the supervision of Dr. Benoît Gabrielle and Dr. Thierry Brunelle (CIRAD/CIRED)

Dr. Solène Chiquier joined on March 23, 2023 the CarMa Research team for a 18-month post-doctoral research work based at Massassuchets Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Prof. Sergey Paltsev's research group.

Dr. Emma Jagu-Schippers has been awarded the "Prix Spécial du Jury : Impact Société" by the jury of the Fondation CentraleSupélec thesis prize.

On March 23, 2023, Solène Chiquier joined the CarMa research team to start her postdoctoral research work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Call for Papers - Topical Issue on "The role of Negative Emissions Technologies in 2050 decarbonation pathways" Your research interest deals with Negative Emissions Technologies, you are welcome to publish your work in the Sciences and Technologies for Energy Transition (STET) special Issue on NETs.

On January 20, 2023, Prof. Jean-Pierre Deflandre presented the CarMa Chair research activity program during a meeting from the "Alliance Nationale de Coordination de la Recherche pour L'Energie" (ANCRE)

PhD Thesis | Publications | Conference Papers | Workshop Presentations

Romain Presty joined the Economics department of IFP School on the 28th of November 2022 to conduct his PhD work on Equilibrium Modelling of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Markets in partnership with CentraleSupélec. A special attention is dedicated on the agent’s behavior, combining Game Theory and Complementarity problems. In his work, Romain likes to consider the economics aspects of CDR technology to better remedy the challenges related to the implementation of such technologies. He formerly graduated from Toulouse School of Economics with a master’s degree on Environmental and Energy Economics.technology to better remedy the challenges related to the implementation of such technologies. He formerly graduated from Toulouse School of Economics with a master’s degree on Environmental and Energy Economics.

Emma Jagu Schippers briantly defensed her PhD research on November 10, 2022 at Centrale-Supélec

On November 28, 2022, Romain Presty joined the CarMa research team to start his PhD work on "Equilibrium Modelling of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Markets" in the Economics Department of IFP School

On November 21, 2022, Siwar Saadaoui joined the CarMa research team to start her PhD work on locating biomass production for global energy under the constraints of climate and biodiversity"

Ms. Emma JAGU SCHIPPERS (Industrial Engineering Laboratory, CentraleSupélec, Université Paris Saclay and IFP School) will publicly defend her doctoral thesis

Florence Delprat-Jannaud and Jean-Pierre Deflandre happy from the CarMa contribution to GHGT16 with at least four presentations from our young researchers and ...

GHGT16 leaves the floor to young people from different countries to discuss their future and the role of CCUS among other actions to reach carbon neutrality. Sibylle Duval--Dachary was in the panel, representing France and the CarMa chair. Nice to hear priorities of young people and see their commitment!

This afternoon, Emma Jagu is presenting her work "CO2 removal and 1.5°C: Sharing the Gains from Interregional Cooperation using a Game-Theoretic Approach" in a paper...

When looking at the possible large-scale deployment of the BECCS technology at horizon 2050, the CarMa's research program pays also attention to the social issues associated with such a deployment.

Today Sibylle Duval--Dachary presented her on-going PhD research work "Life Cycle Assessment of BECCS systems: critical review of life cycle inventories" during the session 4D on "Biomass and CCS".

Today Carlos Andrade presented his post-doc research work "Assessing the role of negative emission technologies in the low carbon transition of the iron and steel sector" during the sesion...

During GHGT16, the CarMa research team presents its ongoing work on the BECCS theme with two oral (by Sibylle DUVAL--DACHARY and Carlos ANDRADE) and two poster presentations. The whole work is summarized in a poster displayed on the IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) booth. There, Jean-Pierre Deflandre will be pleased to present you the CarMa Chair's objectives and results.

On October 18, 2022, the " Alliance Nationale pour la Coordination de la Recherche pour l'Energie (ANCRE)" published its position paper on carbon sinks that synthethized the work achived by groups 1 and 2 from this organization in which CarMa contributed to the worksheep devoted to biomass carbon capture and geological storage (BECCS).

A new article has been published within CarMa research agenda.

Our young researchers are on the stage. Today they will present their research work...

Market Equilibrium Modeling for Carbon Dioxide Removal Markets

CarMa is pleased to share on its ongoing research activity at Fondation Tuck.

On September 13, PhD students and postdoctorants from the CarMa research team participated to a poster session at the TEcX conference entitled "Climate change: do we have all cards in hands?" held in TotalEnergies office at La Défense.

On June 22, 2022, Florian Auclair and Jean-Pierre Deflandre took the opportunity to visit the Drax biomass plant. This plant located in Yorkshire, England, aims to become the first full BECCS installation in Europe.

Florian Auclair is a PhD student at the University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour, as part of the IFP School's CarMa Chair research program.

A common publication from CarMa and Imperial College London authored by Solène Chiquier, Emma Jagu, Olivier Massol and Niall Mac Dowell

Dr. João Pedro Domingues is interested in subjects related to land and resources management with the objective to conciliate food production and environmental protection. His international academic background and professional experiences provide him with deep analytical expertise in agricultural and land use management solutions.

On February 01, 2022, the CarMa IFP School Chair and INRAE signed a research agreement on a Post-Doctorate work devoted to no-harm deployment scenarios of BioEnergy (BECCS).

Unlocking CO2 infrastructures: the impact of carbon removal accounting - Emma JAGU (IFP School, CentraleSupélec), Olivier MASSOL (IFP School)

IFP School will offer 10 free video clips (5 to 10 minutes long) to discover the challenges of the energy transition and the sector’s innovations for a low-carbon energy mix.

Dr. Carlos Eduardo Andrade Sandoval is passionate about protecting the environment and the planet, that is why his work focuses on studying different options that can help society to reduce the environmental impact of its activities.

CO2 REMOVAL AND 1.5°C: WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW? - Solène CHIQUIER (Imperial College London), Mathilde FAJARDY (University of Cambridge), Niall MACDOWEL (Imperial College London).

The research team of the CarMa IFP School Chair is very pleased to welcome Sibylle Duval-Dachary who joined the Economics and Environmental Evaluation Department of IFP Energies nouvelles in September 2021 to start her PhD work on the topic entitled "Negative emissions potential from CCU technologies". Her PhD research work will be supervised by Sandra Beauchet and Daphné Lorne (IFPEN) under the direction of Dr. Arnaud Hélias (INRAE - Sup Agro Montpellier). This is a new partnership for the Chair after the ones with Centrale-Supélec, CNRS and Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (UPPA).

Evolen Magazine comes back on the 2020 Evolen days plenary session devoted to Negative Emissions Technologies organized by the Evolen CCUS Committee in close collaboration with the CarMa IFP School Chair team.

On June 23, 2021, Ancuta Isbasoiu presented her post-doctoral work entitled “Negative greenhouse gas emissions in France by 2050: techno-economic potential assessment” at the TCCS–11 Trondheim Conference on CO2 Capture, Transport and Storage.

Florian Auclair has joined the research center for energetical and environmental transitions of Pau University in February 2021 to start his PhD work on the societal impacts of BECCS (Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage).

On December 2020, the CarMa IFP School chair and the CNRS signed a partnership agreement on a PhD work devoted to the societal issues associated with the deployment of BECCS.

The second Scientific Council of CarMa was held on November 30 and December 1, 2020. The first year of scientific activity of the chair was presented to the Scientific Council by the co-holders of the chair and fully approved.

CarMa Research Team | Post-Doctoral Program | Doctoral Program

The second free edition of the MOOC "Energy Transition: Innovation towards a low carbon future", which took place from 27 January to 20 March 2020, attracted 11,643 participants from 129 countries.

Emma Jagu Schippers was part of the Economics department of IFP School from October 2019 to October 2022 to conduct her PhD work on the economics of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), with a focus on Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS

Dr. Ancuta Isbasoiu holds a Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Paris-Saclay. She also completed a Master 2 in International Economics and Macroeconomic Policies at the University Paris Nanterre and a Master 1 in Trade and International Business at the University Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne.

Dr. Andrei Carlos Briones Hidrovo holds a Ph.D on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Master degree on Energy Technologies for sustainable development.

Interview with Jean-Pierre Deflandre, IFP School professor and chair co-holder [IFP School Newsletter #42 - December 2019]

A cooperative approach for joint BECCS and CCS deployment - Emma JAGU, Olivier MASSOL - 20 May 2020 : Abstract