HOPT-AS: Using System Architecture to Mitigate Conventional CCUS Infrastructure Risks

HOPT-AS is a System Architecture and Assurance Standard for CCUS built around the Hub-Only Pipeline Topology (HOPT). It defines how emitters, regeneration hubs, solids logistics, CO₂ pipelines, storage and utilization interfaces are organised into a coherent infrastructure system.

HOPT-AS is not a carbon-capture technology or an engineering design standard. It establishes the system architecture, topology, boundaries, participation rules, governance and assurance framework within which detailed engineering, safety, regulatory and geological work is undertaken.

The fundamental architectural change: emitters do not connect directly to gaseous-CO₂ pipelines. CO₂ is captured into solid form, transported through conventional logistics to central regeneration hubs, converted to gaseous CO₂ at the hubs, and then transported through a hub-to-hub / hub-to-storage or utilization pipeline network. Pipelines Connect only Hubs. No gas handling (compression & Conditioning) for emitters.

This creates shared regional infrastructure: a single hub can serve multiple emitters, removing the need for every emitter to have its own pipeline connection, onsite gaseous-CO₂ handling and associated infrastructure.

Fig 1: The Basic HOPT-AS Structure

Figure 2: Showing 2 Hubs Connected by a Pipeline Connecting only Hubs and also to a storage site.

Figure 3: Showing only Hubs Connected by pipelines, not emitters – Countrywide Network

The investment proposition is not a new “architecture risk” category. HOPT-AS uses architecture to mitigate recognised infrastructure and investment risks that can impair long-term capital value.

Stranded Asset Risk → shared infrastructure, flexible emitter participation and modular Architecture Classes reduce dependence on a fixed set of emitters or an unchanging network configuration.

Under-utilisation / Capital Efficiency Risk → multi-emitter hubs and shared infrastructure create a broader participation base and reduce unnecessary duplication.

Infrastructure Duplication Risk → centralized regeneration and shared hub infrastructure reduce replicated processing and transport infrastructure.

Infrastructure Fragmentation Risk → common Architecture Classes, topology rules, system boundaries and interoperability requirements allow independently developed projects to form one coherent regional network.

Scalability Risk → defined Architecture Classes support progressive expansion rather than requiring fundamental architectural redesign as participation grows.

Expansion & Compatibility Risk → standardized interfaces, topology rules and Dynamic Compliance help ensure future hubs, pipelines and infrastructure can integrate with the existing architecture.

Governance / Architectural Drift Risk → Dynamic Compliance and Real-Time Stewardship continuously preserve the risk-mitigating characteristics of the architecture as new emitters, hubs, logistics, pipelines, storage and utilization infrastructure are added or modified.

Multi-Emitter by Design: emitters can be added, withdrawn or reassigned between hubs through flexible solids logistics without reconstructing the underlying hub-only pipeline network, subject to continued compliance.

Multi-Hub by Design: HOPT-AS provides topology classes progressing from single-hub/many-emitter systems through multi-hub networks and ultimately national-scale meshes.

Multi-Storage by Design: larger HOPT systems can route CO₂ from hubs to multiple storage sites, with storage potentially shared between hubs.

Multi-Utilization: HOPT-AS establishes system boundaries and interfaces for storage and utilization destinations, allowing the network to evolve beyond a single destination pathway.

Progressive Capital Deployment: the architecture allows regions to start with a relatively simple hub-and-emitter configuration, develop regional multi-hub systems and progressively evolve toward national-scale networks with multiple storage sites.

Institutional Assurance: HOPT-AS provides Infrastructure Risk Benchmarking, Architecture Blueprint Certification, Architecture Design Certification, Infrastructure Conformance Certification, Dynamic Compliance Certification and Expansion & Evolution Certification across the infrastructure lifecycle.

The capital proposition: HOPT-AS does not certify that an individual CCUS project is financially viable. It provides an independent architectural framework for reducing recognised infrastructure risks and preserving the structural characteristics that support long-term infrastructure value.

Bottom line: HOPT-AS transforms CCUS from a collection of potentially isolated projects into a shared, multi-emitter, multi-hub and multi-storage/utilization infrastructure architecture — while providing continuing assurance (via Dynamic Compliance) that its risk-mitigating characteristics are preserved as the system grows.