How do you calculate the cost of CO₂ compression downtime?

Multiply downtime hours by lost value per hour by the affected capacity share, then add the fixed restart and recovery cost. With 100 hours at $45/hr affecting 80% of capacity, the variable cost is $3,600; adding a $250 restart cost gives a total of $3,850.

Why include an affected capacity share instead of assuming 100%?

Many outages degrade rather than fully stop capture — one compressor of several trips, or a partial bypass keeps some CO₂ flowing. The 80% share in the example means only four-fifths of the hourly value is actually lost, avoiding an overstated cost.

What is the downtime cost per hour in this example?

$38.50 per hour. That is the $3,850 total spread across the 100 downtime hours, which is useful for comparing the marginal cost of each additional hour offline against the cost of faster repairs.

Variable downtime cost vs fixed restart cost — what's the difference?

Variable cost ($3,600) scales with how long you're down and how much capacity is hit. Fixed restart and recovery cost ($250) is incurred once per outage regardless of length — purge gas, re-pressurization energy and the controlled restart sequence.

What is a good lost value per downtime hour to use?

Use the marginal value of the CO₂ you fail to capture: the offtake price, carbon-credit value, or contractual penalty per hour, net of variable cost saved while down. Don't use average revenue, which overstates the loss.

How can I reduce total downtime cost?

Cut the hours through faster diagnostics and spares, lower the affected share with redundancy or partial-bypass operation, or shrink the fixed restart cost with optimized purge and re-pressurization procedures.

Carbon Capture & CO₂ Compression Equipment calculator

Downtime Cost Calculator

Downtime Cost quantifies what an outage on your CO₂ capture and compression train really costs once you combine lost capture value, the share of capacity actually knocked out, and the fixed price of restarting and recovering the system. Plant managers and reliability engineers use it to justify spare parts, redundancy and faster response procedures. On a capture plant, downtime means lost CO₂ credits or offtake revenue plus the energy and labor to re-establish stable compression — so a single number tying both together is far more useful than wrench-time estimates alone. It turns an abstract outage into a dollar figure you can defend in a capital request.

What this calculator does

Estimate cost exposure from capture, compression, drying, or injection downtime using unavailable hours, lost value per hour, affected scope, and restart costs.
Use it when downtime cost in carbon capture and co₂ compression equipment is being put through a carbon capture and co₂ compression equipment weighted-cost review.
It computes total downtime cost by multiplying outage hours, hourly lost value and the affected capacity share, then adding a fixed restart and recovery cost.

Formula used

Variable downtime cost = CO₂ system downtime × lost value per downtime hour × affected capture scope
Total downtime cost = variable downtime cost + fixed restart and recovery cost

Inputs explained

CO₂ compressor downtime duration:
Lost capture value per downtime hour:
Affected capture capacity share:
Fixed restart and recovery cost:

How to use the result

Use it after or before an outage to value lost production, build a business case for redundancy, or compare the cost of a planned versus unplanned stop.
It assumes a flat hourly lost value; in reality CO₂ offtake prices, penalties and ramp-down losses vary over the outage, so for long or contractual outages model the time profile explicitly.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Industrial electricity averages 8.66 cents per kWh across the U.S. (EIA, Apr 2026), up 5.5% from a year earlier. Energy-intensive steps carry this directly into unit cost.
Steel mill PPI stands at 348.53 (BLS, May 2026), up 6.7% from a year earlier. New factory orders are up 2.3% year over year (Census).

Common questions

How do you calculate the cost of CO₂ compression downtime? Multiply downtime hours by lost value per hour by the affected capacity share, then add the fixed restart and recovery cost. With 100 hours at $45/hr affecting 80% of capacity, the variable cost is $3,600; adding a $250 restart cost gives a total of $3,850.
Why include an affected capacity share instead of assuming 100%? Many outages degrade rather than fully stop capture — one compressor of several trips, or a partial bypass keeps some CO₂ flowing. The 80% share in the example means only four-fifths of the hourly value is actually lost, avoiding an overstated cost.
What is the downtime cost per hour in this example? $38.50 per hour. That is the $3,850 total spread across the 100 downtime hours, which is useful for comparing the marginal cost of each additional hour offline against the cost of faster repairs.
Variable downtime cost vs fixed restart cost — what's the difference? Variable cost ($3,600) scales with how long you're down and how much capacity is hit. Fixed restart and recovery cost ($250) is incurred once per outage regardless of length — purge gas, re-pressurization energy and the controlled restart sequence.
What is a good lost value per downtime hour to use? Use the marginal value of the CO₂ you fail to capture: the offtake price, carbon-credit value, or contractual penalty per hour, net of variable cost saved while down. Don't use average revenue, which overstates the loss.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.