Enabling onshore CO2 storage in Europe: fostering international cooperation around pilot and test sites

To meet the ambitious EC target of an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) needs to move rapidly towards full scale implementation with geological storage solutions both on and offshore. Onshore storage offers increased flexibility and reduced infrastructure and monitoring costs. Enabling onshore storage will support management of decarbonisation strategies at territory level while enhancing security of energy supply and local economic activities, and securing jobs across Europe. However, successful onshore storage also requires overcoming some unique technical and societal challenges. ENOS will provide crucial advances to help foster onshore CO2 storage across Europe through: 1. Developing, testing and demonstrating in the field, under "real-life conditions", key technologies specifically adapted to onshore storage. 2. Contributing to the creation of a favourable environment for onshore storage across Europe. The ENOS site portfolio will provide a great opportunity for demonstration of technologies for safe and environmentally sound storage at relevant scale. Best practices will be developed using experience gained from the field experiments with the participation of local stakeholders and the lay public. This will produce improved integrated research outcomes and increase stakeholder understanding and confidence in CO2 storage. In this improved framework, ENOS will catalyse new onshore pilot and demonstration projects in new locations and geological settings across Europe, taking into account the site-specific and local socio-economic context. By developing technologies from TRL4/5 to TRL6 across the storage lifecycle, feeding the resultant knowledge and experience into training and education and cooperating at the pan-European and global level, ENOS will have a decisive impact on innovation and build the confidence needed for enabling onshore CO2 storage in Europe. ENOS is initiating strong international collaboration between European researchers and their counterparts from the USA, Canada, South Korea, Australia and South Africa for sharing experience worldwide based on real-life onshore pilots and field experiments. Fostering experience-sharing and research alignment between existing sites is key to maximise the investment made at individual sites and to support the efficient large scale deployment of CCS. ENOS is striving to promote collaboration between sites in the world through a programme of site twinning, focus groups centered around operative issues and the creation of a leakage simulation alliance

Transferring responsibility of CO2 storage sites to the competent authority following site closure

The requirements for pre-qualifying a site for CO2 storage are well developed. Less attention has been paid to rehearsing and preparing for the transfer of responsibility of the storage site from the operator to a governmental authority following closure of the site at the end of the injection period. This is not surprising because the industry is in its infancy and most effort has been focussed on working towards the early stages of the various projects. A procedure for complying to the regulatory requirements for the transport of responsibility in the CCS Directive has been proposed, which consists of a chart with Site Closure Milestones and a traffic light system for treating irregularities in observed behaviour of the storage site, and accompanying criteria. The procedure was successfully tested on the K12-B CO2 injection pilot. Conclusions have been drawn on the basis of several dry runs for reporting the requirements for transfer of responsibility including feedback from operators and regulators

Second Generation CO2 FEP Analysis: CASSIF - Carbon Storage Scenario Identification Framework

AbstractCarbon dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) is a promising contribution to reduce further increase of atmospheric CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. The CCS concept anticipates that large amounts of CO2 are going to be stored in the subsurface for the long term.Since CCS is a rather new technology, uncertainties related with the future evolution of a CO2 storage system should be addressed in a systematic framework. Performance and risk assessment frameworks are being created for the evaluation of the safeness and effectiveness of a CCS project. The recommended first step of this framework is a qualitative analysis, which encompasses the scenario analysis. The main goal of this step is to identify CO2 release scenarios, which can be supported by using a database of Features, Events and Processes (FEP), i.e. the elements that describe the characteristics and behaviour of the geological system. A qualitative FEP database tool assists to describe the storage concept and the factors which might influence the future behaviour of the storage reservoir and its surroundings. Scenario analysis using a FEP database is a crucial part of the risk assessment of a CCS project and has been applied to define release scenarios for a number of storage sites. However, further improvement is needed to facilitate a faster and more coherent analysis.For this purpose, a novel scenario analysis framework has been created, called Carbon Storage Scenario Identification Framework (CASSIF) (Yavuz et al., 2008 [1]). It is based on the three major CO2 release scenarios (well, fault and seal) from where the relevant events and processes are identified and modelled. Expert opinion is a key value within this framework. A questionnaire to be filled in by experts has been designed for the initial screening and ranking of events and processes. Features (static entities) have been separated from the events and process (the dynamic characteristics) so the focus in the expert elicitation will be on the latter. The new interface facilitates the online use of the FEP database. Together with real-time scenario formation, these improvements will greatly enhance the speed, transparency and comprehe nsiveness in the creation of subsurface CO2 release scenarios

International collaboration activities of the CO2GeoNet European Network of Excellence on CO2 geological storage

International audienceCO2GeoNet has been deeply involved in enabling efficient and safe CO2 storage in deep geological formations to combat climate change and ocean acidification. Created in 2004 with the support of the European Commission, it became an Association under French law in 2008. With a current membership of 26 research institutes spanning 19 European countries, CO2GeoNet represents the scientific voice of Europe on CO2 storage.CO2GeoNet activities encompass research, scientific advice, training, information & communication. Collaboration with non-European countries has always been sought. Some examples include the co-organisation in June 2009 in Bangkok of a capacity building workshop with the Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia (CCOP); the publication of the CO2GeoNet brochure ‘What does CO2 geological storage really mean’ in 29 languages including Arabic, Russian and Chinese (currently in press); the invitation of international stakeholders to participate in the annual CO2GeoNet Open Forum in Venice; a twinning programme between European onshore pilot sites and similar sites abroad including South Korea (Janggi) and Australia (Otway) in the framework of the current H2020 ENOS research project ‘Enabling Onshore CO2 Storage in Europe’.Official collaboration with international organisations has also been set up. CO2GeoNet is: linked with the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEAGHG) via a cooperation agreement, an Associate to the Global CCS Institute (GCCSI), a Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF) recognized network, a Liaison organization in the ISO CCS Technical Committee, a UNFCCC accredited Research NGO (RINGO), and a member of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN).The latest international activities and key messages on CO2 storage will be highlighted in order to further encourage collaboration between Europe, Asia Oceania and the rest of the world, as it is crucial to join efforts globally to keep the temperature rise well below 2°C

CO2GeoNet Perspective on CO2Capture and Storage: A Vital Technology for Completing the Climate Change Mitigation Portfolio

International audienc

CO2 Capture and Storage, a viable and flexible technology vital for completing the climate change mitigation portfolio – The perspective from the CO2GeoNet European Network of Excellence on CO2 geological storage

International audienceCO2GeoNet, the European Network of Excellence on CO2 geological storage, was created in 2004 as an EU PF6 project and became an association in 2008. The Association strives to enable efficient and safe CO2 storage in deep geological formations to combat climate change and ocean acidification. With a current membership of 26 research institutes spanning 19 European countries, activities include research, scientific advice, training, information & communication. CO2GeoNet, as a pan-European scientific body, has a valuable and independent role to play in enabling the deployment of the CO2 capture and storage (CCS) technology, when and where it is needed in Europe and in other parts of the World. CO2GeoNet is highly active on the international scene, through a cooperation agreement with IEAGHG and the Global CCS Institute, as a CSLF recognized network and a Liaison organization in the ISO CCS Technical Committee, and as a UNFCCC accredited Research NGO (RINGO).The COP21 Climate Conference in Paris in December 2015 was an important milestone and CO2GeoNet was deeply involved, both before and after this conference, in bringing the science behind CO2 storage and the rationale for CCS to a wide range of stakeholders including the general public. The main outcomes of these events will be presented, focusing on key messages

CO2GeoNet actions in Europe for advancing CCUS through global cooperation

To meet the ambitious target set out in the Paris Agreement to keep the temperature rise well below 2°C, all the tools available for reducing CO2 emissions, including CO2 Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), are needed to meet the challenge. Global collaboration is key in advancing CCUS. CO2GeoNet, a pan-European scientific body on CO2 geological storage, has gained visibility and recognition in the European and global arenas, participating in research and providing scientific advice, training and capacity building, and information and communication. A summary of CO2GeoNet's cooperation activities with countries outside Europe and with international bodies is given here. CO2GeoNet is open to further opportunities as the Association views global cooperation as critical to accelerating the development, recognition and deployment of CCUS as an important and flexible climate change mitigation technology. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd