Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage as a Tool for Climate Change Mitigation

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) combines processes for converting biomass resources or feedstocks to usable forms of energy with technologies for capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Properly designed, such systems offer the potential to extract CO2 from the atmosphere – in effect, transferring carbon atoms captured via photosynthesis to geologic storage – while also supplying zero or lower-carbon energy. This issue brief describes the main components of BECCS systems and highlights key questions for designing BECCS systems to maximize climate and other benefits.