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Title: Why Terminology Matters for Successful Rollout of Carbon Dioxide Utilization Technologies

Journal Article · · Frontiers in Climate
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [4]
  1. Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam (Germany)
  2. Univ. of Sheffield (United Kingdom)
  3. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
  4. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
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To realize their full sustainability potential, carbon dioxide utilization technologies (carbon capture and utilization/CCU) presently require policy support. Consequently, they require acceptance among a variety of stakeholders in industry, policy making, and in the public sphere alike. While CO2 utilization is already a topic of discourse among these stakeholders, there is a lack of common terminology to describe such technologies. On the contrary: The present article shows that terminology in the field of CO2 utilization technologies is currently used inconsistently, and that different designations such as CCU, CCUS, or CDR convey different meanings and contexts. These ambiguities may cause communication problems with regard to policy making, funding proposals, and especially in public discourse. In order to initiate and accompany a goal-oriented and knowledge-based debate on CO2 utilization technologies in the future, actors in the field are asked to question their own choices of terminology and to assess its accuracy. Acronyms and technical abbreviations are the chief cause of potential misunderstandings, and so should be avoided whenever possible or else include a brief explanation. Consistent and precise use of terminology will facilitate transparent dialogue concerning CO2 utilization in the future.

Research Organization:
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE); Global CO2 Initiative
Grant/Contract Number:
FE0025912
OSTI ID:
1873663
Journal Information:
Frontiers in Climate, Vol. 4; ISSN 2624-9553
Publisher:
Frontiers Media S.A.Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Naming is framing: the effects of a technological name on the interpretation of a technology journal January 2019
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Potential of CO2-EOR for Near-Term Decarbonization journal September 2019
Advancing CCU Technologies Pursuant to the SDGs: A Challenge for Policy Making journal August 2020
Conflicting expectations on carbon dioxide utilisation journal August 2020
Assessing the Relative Climate Impact of Carbon Utilization for Concrete, Chemical, and Mineral Production journal August 2021
Reduce, reuse, recycle: Acceptance of CO 2 -utilization for plastic products journal June 2017

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