IntoCloud

Background
The EU has a stated goal of reducing CO₂ emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. To meet these ambitions, exponential growth in CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) infrastructure is necessary. This requires the ability to make rapid and secure investment decisions. With such ambitious goals for capture and storage, it becomes a matter of facilitating transport infrastructure between sources, hubs, and storage locations. This will involve high-pressure CO₂ transport by pipelines and cooled, pressurized liquid CO₂ to be stored in intermediate facilities and transported by ship.

Data for is lacking for the validation of safety-analysis tools in the case of leaks and dispersion from cold CO₂ sources, relevant for ship transport and intermediate storage. In the figure below, the initial states for tanks/pipelines in previous dispersion experiments are illustrated by gray dots, along with relevant conditions for ship transport and intermediate storage marked in green. Insufficient validation of risk assesment tools can potentially lead to serious deficiencies in risk analyses and design choices for CO₂ facilities if these methods are found to be too inaccurate.

Goal
The IntoCloud project aims to fill the missing data and knowledge gaps related to CO₂ leakage at cold temperatures. This will be achieved through experiments on tank leaks, dry-ice formation in pipelines, and dispersion tests for initial states that have not been studied before. Leakage rates, the effect of dry-ice particle formation and sublimation will be quantified. These data will be used to develop and validate accurate physics models of CO₂ leaks, dry-ice formation in pipelines, and CO₂ dispersion in the near field. This project will provide the necessary foundation for developing precise calculation tools for the design and risk analysis of CO₂ handling facilities.

Activities
To achieve the project’s ambitious goals, the work is divided into three main activities:
1. Leakage and dispersion experiments
2. Physics-based modeling and validation
3. Benchmarking and industry cases

Experimental campaigns will be conducted at SINTEF’s and USN’s facilities. SINTEF will do model development and validation. In addition to giving insights based on hands-on-experience, the industry partners will contribute with simulation work for the activity on benchmarking and industry cases.

Results
IntoCloud aims to provide accurate and relevant experimental data and develop a comprehensive physical description of CO₂ leakage and near-field dispersion, particularly from cold sources. The results from IntoCloud will be openly published and can enable improved safety analysis of CCS infrastructure, including pipelines, ship tanks, and intermediate storage tanks. This will lead to a better foundation for designing new CO₂ infrastructure, placing safety valves, and assessing the safety of existing infrastructure.