The Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) is setting up a new call for R&D applications. CCS is one of many topics that are prioritized in this call.
There will be NOK 30 M available for Norwegian partners in international CCS projects
The upcoming CETP Call will be published in June and CETP is setting up several events to promote the call. A full overview is available at the CETP web site: https://cetpartnership.eu/events/all
We will in particular recommend three webinars related to CCS:
We are also setting up a Norwegian webinar to explain the Norwegian national requirement for the call. This will take place 12th June 10:00-11:00. The meeting is open and you can join by this link: Click here to join the meeting
If you have questions, please contact Aage Stangeland at the Research Council of Norway, ast@rcn.no
Cheaper CO₂ storage from reusing oil and gas wells
The capture and storage of CO2 is seen as one of many solutions to mitigate severe climate change.
The challenge is to make the technology cheap enough, and an exciting research project has developed a tool which makes it easy to assess whether oil and gas wells can be reused for CO2 injection. This could reduce the cost of CO2 storage.
The suitability of existing wells
There are many oil and gas wells that could potentially be reused for CO2 injection to permanently store CO2 underground. The aim of the REX-CO2 project was to explore methods and tools to make it easy to assess the suitability of existing wells for CO2 injection. A significant part of the project was made up of experimental laboratory studies, with the emphasis on understanding well integrity and well barriers. Another significant element was the development of an assessment tool that can systematically evaluate a field and its wells for possible reuse for CO2 storage.
REX-CO2 has been funded through ACT (Accelerating CCS Technologies), in which funding agencies from several countries are collaborating on joint calls for funding of research and development projects. TNO (the Netherlands) was the project coordinator. Three Norwegian partners participated in the project, with SINTEF acting as research partner together with the two industrial partners, Equinor and ReStone. Other foreign partners were BGS (UK), IFP-EN (France) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA).
Gathering new knowledge and expertise
The research in REX-CO2 focused on the interactions between the well materials (cement and steel pipes), with the aim of understanding the system and minimising failure and the risk of leaks. The collaboration between researchers and industrial partners was crucial to gathering new knowledge and expertise.
The main result from REX-CO2 is a tool that makes it possible to evaluate the reuse of wells for CO2 injection. The tool can be downloaded without any cost from the project website.
The project also generated new knowledge of CO2-resistant cement for use in CO2 wells. It also enhanced our understanding of materials that can provide good well integrity.
The project started in 2019 and was completed towards the end of 2022.
Brief summary of the CLIMIT Demo project “Technology qualification of low-pressure CO₂ ship transportation”
As the name suggests, this project will carry out a technology qualification of low-pressure CO2 ship transport. The project is being led by DNV in collaboration with the following partners: Equinor, Shell, TotalEnergies and Gassco.
The project has a total budget of NOK 26 million and was awarded 32% funding of the cost budget by CLIMIT Demo in 2021.
DNV`s visual CETO value chain. Illustration: DNV
LP transport is an unproven solution
Today, CO2 is transported in liquid form on ships with pressures and temperatures around 15 barg and -25 degrees Celsius, which is referred to as medium-pressure (MP). At the same time, the project’s partners believe there may be advantages to using lower pressures for transporting larger volumes of CO2 by ship. The pressure/temperature range in question is 6 barg and -50 degrees Celsius, and referred to as low-pressure (LP). The potential advantage of LP transport is that lower pressures allow for larger tanks and ships to be built, which in turn would lead to a lower per-tonne cost of cargo capacity for LP ships than MP ships.
LP transport is an unproven solution with higher risks than MP transport. LP pressures and temperatures are closer to the triple point for CO2 than MP. The triple point is the point at which the three phases of the substance are in equilibrium, solid (dry ice), liquid and gas. LP transport thus has lower margins compared to MP when it comes to unwanted phase changes, something which entails a technical risk that must be defined and minimised through good process design in the transport chain. The project partnership aims to qualify LP transport in order to be able to use this solution in future phases of Northern Lights and other future CCS chains that need to transport large volumes of CO2.
Main activities
The project will be carried out in accordance with the DNV’s recommended practice, ‘DNV GL RP-A203 Technology Qualification’, and consists of two main activities:
1) Designing ships with a cargo capacity of 30 kilotonnes, loading system (tanker loading/unloading system), and plants to liquify CO2.
2) Simulation and experimental testing: Development of loading/unloading process simulation tools (better definition of risk of dry ice formation), and experimental testing around the triple point as a basis for setting safety margins.
The intention behind the project is to reduce the risks associated with LP transport, and the goal of the project is to qualify LP transport for use in future CCS chains.
Gabriele has a background in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Genoa, Italy.
Joined DNV in 2007 and worked as a structural engineer for the Maritime Advisory focusing on the ultimate strength of vessels and offshore structures, rule development, R&D, design verification and trouble shooting. Member of ISSC since 2015, he is currently on the “Renewable Energy” committee.
Gabriele contributed to projects within the production, transportation, and storage of liquefied gas and concept development with an increasing focus on CO2 transport by ship in the context of CCS and CCU. At present, he is managing the JIP on technology qualification of low-pressure shipping solutions on the behalf of the DNV.
This report examines existing patent data in the field of carbon capture technology and has been jointly prepared by the Norwegian Industrial Property Office and Gassnova.
Eight technology areas
The goal of the report is to identify opportunities and challenges in terms of intellectual property rights by surveying the patent landscape in the technical field of carbon capture. The report is divided into eight technology areas which are considered the most important areas of research within the field of carbon capture.
The data has been analysed on a global level, but we also examine in further details how Norwegian stakeholders assert themselves in the field of carbon capture technology.
“It’s important that CLIMIT thinks internationally”
“International cooperation on CCS research and technology development will be even more important in the years ahead. The CLIMIT Programme gives us the opportunity to play a meaningful role.”
Marie Bysveen has been a member of the CLIMIT Programme Committee since 2015. “For many years, Norway has been one of the most ambitious and focused European countries when it comes to carbon capture and storage. Research and development under the auspices of CLIMIT has been extremely important in this regard. The work we do on the Programme Committee is interesting because it gives us good insight into everything that’s going on in the field, and because the Committee has a balanced composition of skilled people with a range of experiences and approaches to the challenges that developing technology and strong business models should help to solve. I also have the responsibility of being the head of the CCS programme under the EERA (European Energy Research Alliance) and am therefore particularly keen that projects supported by CLIMIT also include international cooperation and partnerships.”
How do you encounter CCS in your day-to-day work?
“All the time and in all sorts of situations. More specifically, I was recently involved in GHGT in Lyon, which is the major international gathering of researchers and industrial operators working on CCS projects and technology that takes place every other year. I was there to represent the EERA CCS community. I also took part in a panel debate about the importance of CCUS at the SET Plan conference in Prague and a board meeting for the ACCESS project, which is led by SINTEF Energy. At the moment I work with regional actors developing projects for large scale carbon capture and storage on Waste to Energy plants.”
What do you think is CLIMIT’s most important contribution to the green transformation?
“CLIMIT is, and should be, a driving force for the development of technologies that will lead to strong CCS solutions that will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as creating new job opportunities. The Programme is vital for achieving the changes that Norway and the world sorely need.”
Marie Bysveen works for SINTEF Energy and is a member of the Programme Board of CLIMIT.
Member of the Programme Board of CLIMIT
Marie Bysveen (54) has a PhD in Combustion and fuels technology NTNU and works as the Chief Market Developer, PhD at SINTEF Energy. She began her career as a researcher at NTNU and then worked at Kværner Oil and Gas and TecnoConsult. She began at SINTEF Energy in 2006 where she has held many positions in research, management, business development and strategy.
What should CLIMIT prioritise in terms of technology development in the future – where are the gaps?
“We have to reduce the costs and risks associated with CCS, which is why CLIMIT must continue to prioritise projects that will lead to more efficient solutions across the entire value chain. It will be particularly important going forward to focus on increasing our storage capacity, the safety of carbon transport and further developing effective capture technologies. Moreover, efforts must be focused on technology that will lead to significant negative emissions in the long-term, by which I mean carbon capture from the atmosphere. So, I’m also keen that we include social science research communities to a greater extent with regard to how this industrial effort can be implemented in a way that will be acceptable for and trusted by the public.”
What needs do you see for the CLIMIT programme over the next five years?
“CLIMIT uses some of the funding that the Programme receives as contributions to international carbon capture projects. This has been crucial for the mobilisation of CCS as a key tool in the fight against climate change in Europe and has contributed to creating a market for technology developed in Norway. Through CETP (Clean Energy Transition Partnership), the EU is now putting more focus on CCS research, and I think that it is strategically vital for CLIMIT to follow up on the positive dialogue and cooperation we have established. But beyond international efforts, CLIMIT must continue to provide support to good national projects and initiatives and contribute to our research communities remaining leaders in the development of new capture and storage solutions.
This study will provide insight into both technical and economic opportunities for what depleted reservoirs could mean for carbon storage in the future. The long-term, secure storage of carbon depends into well characterised geological reservoirs, such as saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas fields (DO&GF). The potential storage capacity of saline formations is well understood, and the aim of this IEAGHG study was to focus specifically on a set of storage conditions that apply to depleted hydrocarbon fields.
This study reviewed the risk induced seismicity at CO2 storage sites. The phenomenon has multiple causes including waste water disposal, geothermal energy and mining. Natural seismicity is also a widespread occurrence and can detected in the same regions as industrial activities associated with induced seismicity. Consequently the detection of any seismicity has to be clearly distinguished.
The aim of this study is to review potential solvents and process designs to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture technologies. Considering the extensive research of solvents and development, a rapid and reliable screening protocol is crucial for improving processes.
This study has investigated how carbon can be used in building materials such as cement and concrete. Capture processes were investigated and case studies where the processes were used are included.
Inaugural CLIMIT Award
The CLIMIT Award recognises champions of CCS who have gone above and beyond over the years to achieve CLIMIT’s objectives. The inaugural prize was awarded during CLIMIT SUMMIT 2023, which took place in Larvik 7–9 February, and was shared by two winners.
CLIMIT Award 2023 to Ragnhild Rønneberg and Eva Halland.
Ragnhild Rønneberg – established “ACT”
One of the two joint winners is Ragnhild Rønneberg, who is responsible for the founding of the “ACT” international partnership, which she achieved with tremendous enthusiasm and commitment. She has transformed it into a platform where researchers from a number of countries can work together to solve challenges related to the capture, transport and storage of CO2.
Thanks to her courage and diplomacy, Ragnhild has ensured that ACT is not only a collection of international projects, but also functions as a platform for knowledge sharing and solid R&D cooperation across national borders.
Ragnhild has been employed by the Research Council of Norway for the past 22 years and retired on 1 February this year. She now plans to devote her time to voluntary work, including with the Red Cross. Given Ragnhild’s passion for CCS, we could not ignore the fact that we were meeting her once again at such an exciting forum for CO2 management.
Eva Halland – for her great involvement in CO2 storage
The other of the two joint winners is Eva Halland, who has held a number of roles with the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (OD) and has served on its management team for more than 17 years. Eva has retired, but now runs her own firm – CarbonGeo Consulting – so many of us can expect to bump into Eva in future in a number of CCS settings.
Eva has been a CCS guru who has been widely recognised both domestically in Norway and internationally. She is Deputy Chair of CLIMIT, a NORSAR board member, and a project manager for CCUS Norway.
She is a trained geologist, having graduated from the University of Bergen.
ACT stands for “Accelerating CCS technologies” and is a platform where industry stakeholders from across a number of countries issue joint calls to tender. 39 projects have been supported since its inception in 2016, receiving EUR 108 million in public support. You can read more about ACT’s impact here.
Close to 250 researchers and industry stakeholders from 11 countries around the world gathered at the CLIMIT SUMMIT conference held on 7–9 February to share and exchange the latest knowledge on carbon capture and storage (CCS).
CLIMIT SUMMIT 2023
Sharing CCS knowledge
70 experts from across the industry spoke at the event ably moderated Kristin Halvorsen, Director of CICERO. In addition to programmed lectures, there were also well-received “speed dating” sessions during which stakeholders from different CCS backgrounds were given five minutes each to present their current work.
Over 400 people followed the streaming these two days and more than 500 have seen the footage afterwards.
“We must continue to support technological development, testing and pilot projects, as it will lead to cost reductions and pave the way for commercially attractive CCS projects at a later date,” said Terje Aasland, Norway’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy.
The Norway’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland.
Research and industry must work together
“CCS is vital to reducing CO2 emissions and ensuring a successful energy transition, but the current pace is too slow. The solution is to unite industrial stakeholders and researchers working across the entire CCS value chain behind a common goal,” said Rikard Kinn, a Project Manager with Aker Solutions.
“Large-scale deployment of CCS depends on comprehensive R&D. The CLIMIT programme will play a key role in this,” said Rune Volla of the Research Council of Norway.
Rune Volla, The Research Council of Norway.
Results from CLIMIT projects presented
Various CLIMIT projects were showcased under three different themes: “capture”, “transport and value chain” and “storage”. These included:
Capture “This is the first test of CO2-capture in the ferroalloy industry as well as capture from two different sources simultaneously. That has never been done before and we are excited to see the final testing results in around six months’ time,” said Jan Gabor from Mo Industrial Park during the conference.
Transport and value chain “We have three elements we are looking into: 1) The prediction of CO2 flow behaviours in pipes. 2) Advancing state-of-the-art measurement technologies. 3) Documenting lessons learned and advances in design, monitoring and control of networks for CCS,” said Yessica Arellano from Macon CCS and SINTEF.
Storage “When upscaling, we can’t just look at technology – we also need to look at regulatory and policy demands, as well as the broader picture for society as a whole. What are they expecting from this process?” said Guttorm Alendal, coordinator for the ACTOM project.</p>
Longship status update
The event also featured a status update from the Longship project, including the screening of three brief videos which are available to watch here:
“Project Longship will generate important and tangible knowledge that can be applied in future projects in the cement and waste-to-energy sector. The support agreements in place with the Norwegian government ensure that this transfer of knowledge actually happens,” said Roy Vardheim, CEO of Gassnova.
Inaugural CLIMIT Award
The CLIMIT Award is given to champions of CCS who have helped to achieve CLIMIT’s objectives over the years. The prize was awarded for the first time at CLIMIT SUMMIT 2023, which took place in Larvik 7–9 February. On this occasion, the prize was shared by two worthy winners: Ragnhild Rønneberg and Eva Halland.
Thank you for your participation!
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Larvik and to those of you who took part virtually!
The conference was organised by Gassnova in partnership with the Research Council of Norway.
More than 240 people will come together in Larvik over 7–9 February. Out of these, a total of 70 experts will deliver presentations.
Six side events are also being organised in connection with the summit to demonstrate the wide-ranging interest and variety in the CCS field.
We are looking forward to getting under way and presenting lots of exciting results from CLIMIT’s project portfolio, as well as hearing from the rest of the CCS world and rounding it all off with an update from Longship stakeholders.
Streaming the main programme
The CLIMIT secretariat are delighted to announce that the main sessions in the programme will be streamed so that even more people will have the chance to follow this year’s summit.
#CLIMITSUMMIT2023
We hope you will be active on social media and sharing details of this event. We are using the hashtag #CLIMITSUMMIT2023.
After the event, we will also be sharing presentations and recordings.
