Shell aims to retire 120 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent of carbon credits in 2030, roughly 20 times the amount it did in the coronavirus pandemic-affected year of 2021.
Carbon retirement involves removing credits from the carbon market so that they can no longer be traded or swapped. The move is intended to eliminate duplicate counting and ensure that a certain amount of carbon dioxide has been reduced.
In a report detailing plans to enhance carbon capture and storage (CCS), renewables, hydrogen production, electric vehicle charging, and sustainable aviation fuel capacity, Shell claimed its net total emissions reduced 16% in five years to 1,375 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2021.
Around 5.1 million of the 6 million tonnes of carbon credits retired in 2021 were tied to energy products used by Shell’s customers, with the rest related to synthetic lubricant manufacture and the company’s business travel.
Shell reported that as of 2021, it provides carbon credits to fleet customers in 17 countries and retail customers in Austria, Canada, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Switzerland at over 3,100 service stations.
It spent US$26 million on natural-based offsets, such as reforestation and the prevention of landscape degradation and destruction, and US$11 million on cookstove initiatives, which reduce emissions from homes who typically cook over open fires.
Shell has two CCS projects up and running, with another ten in the works. Another 25 million tonnes/year of CCS capacity would be installed by 2035, equaling 25 facilities the size of Canada’s Quest CCS plant.
Besides, the British oil giant has 4.7 GW of renewable power in service, under development, or committed for sale by 2021, as well as 4,300 tonnes/year of water electrolysis hydrogen production capacity.
Shell is planning rapid development in both sectors, with plans to build 38 GW of renewable power by 2030, allowing them to sell 560 TWh/year, more than double present sales.
Meanwhile, current hydrogen production from 30 MW of electrolysis accounted for 10% of global installed capacity, with 20 MW in China and 10 MW in Germany, the largest of its kind in Europe. The two electrolyzers have a capacity of 3,000 and 1,300 tonnes/year, respectively.
In addition, Shell operated about 90,000 electric car charging stations in 2021, up from 60,000 the year before. It projected to raise it to more than 500,000 by 2025 and 2.5 million by 2030, accounting for roughly 7% of the global total in 2030.
