The concept of carbon capture and storage (CCS) for climate change mitigation has had a varied history. What originally emerged as essentially a “clean coal” technology has discovered extensive applications within the power and industrial sectors, and since the 2015 Paris climate agreement, become core to the portfolio of options for removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. In short, the concept of CCS is broadly recognised as being indispensable to the 1.5 °C target, and even more so since the UK and France have recently legislated for net zero emissions by 2050.

To say that one works on CCS, however, could, in fact, mean anything. From fundamental science aimed at the design of novel sorbent materials, the design of technologies to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, through to the development of polices to support its deployment, and the drafting of contracts to facilitate the construction of infrastructure, the community of CCS professionals is indeed a broad one.

What this book sets out to do is to provide a resource that is of use to those working in as many of these areas as possible. Our aspiration is that graduate students and industry professionals who are joining our community will find in this book a useful resource that can help them in their work.

Mai Bui and Niall Mac Dowell

London