Socio-economic impacts in the development of CCS and new energy storage technologies in the power Industry: A CGE model analysis

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and advanced energy storage technologies are critical for China's carbon neutrality goals. This study assesses their economic and power sector impacts using a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, analyzing five CCS cost scenarios (C1–C5), three energy storage breakthroughs (S1–S3), and 15 combined scenarios (S1C1–S3C5). Results show that deep decarbonization by 2060 is achievable through CCS alone (C1–C3) or in combination with energy storage, while energy storage alone is insufficient. Combined scenarios generally yield higher GDP and power sector output, with the S1C1 scenario (storage breakthrough by 2030 + low-cost CCS) achieving the largest GDP growth (1.943 trillion yuan) and the highest power sector output increase (10.472 %). Employment rises in most scenarios, with the highest gains in S2C1 and S3C1, creating up to 582,030 new jobs. While CCS alone incurs high costs, its integration with energy storage—particularly in S1C1—minimizes economic and employment trade-offs. In S1C1, every ton of CO₂ reduced increases GDP by 1071.34 yuan and creates 79,200 jobs. Prioritizing early energy storage breakthroughs and optimizing CCS deployment can maximize economic and employment benefits while ensuring deep decarbonization.