A synergistic approach for the simultaneous decarbonisation of power and industry via bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).

• BECCS can result in negative emissions. • Replacing the global coal fleet with BECCS could offset industrial emissions. • A synergistic framework is required to enable this approach. There is a need for a rapid and large scale decarbonisation to reduce CO 2 emissions by 45% within 12 years. Thus, we propose a method that accelerates decarbonisation across multiple sectors via a synergistic approach with bioenergy with CCS (BECCS), which is able to remove 740 kg CO 2 from air per MWh electricity generated. Industry is a hard-to-decarbonise sector which presents a unique set of challenges where, unlike the power sector, there are no obvious alternatives to CCS. One of these challenges is the significant variation of CO 2 concentration, which directly influences CO 2 capture costs, ranging from $10/t CO 2 to over $170/t CO 2 for high (95–99% CO 2) and low CO 2 concentration (4% CO 2) applications, respectively. Re-purposing the existing coal-fired power plant fleet into BECCS displaces CO 2 emissions from coal-use and enables a just transition, i.e. , avoiding job loss, providing a supportive economic framework that does not rely on government subsidies. Negative emissions generated from capturing and storing atmospheric CO 2 can be converted into negative emission credits (NECs) and auctioned to hard-to-decarbonise sectors, thus providing another revenue stream to the power plant. A levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) between $70 and $100 per MWh can be achieved through auctioning NECs at $90–$135 per t CO 2 . Offsetting the global industrial CO 2 emissions of 9 Gt CO 2 would require 3000 BECCS plants under this framework. This approach could jumpstart industrial decarbonisation whilst giving this sector more time to develop new CCS technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]