New wellbore sealants that resist CO2

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To help accelerate CCS, the Cementegrity project is developing and testing new wellbore sealants to better resist CO2. As part of the project, PhD-student Seyed Hasan Hajiabadi at the University of Stavanger is developing a geopolymer sealant, based on natural rock materials and other waste materials. Geopolymers exhibit significant potential as substitute for commonly used cement-based wellbore sealants within CCS (as well as in other applications), because of their strong chemical resilience (stemming from low calcium content), low matrix permeability, and satisfactory mechanical characteristics.

Hasan recently became the first researcher in Cementegrity to publish a journal article. His paper, Review on Geopolymers as Wellbore Sealants: State of the Art Optimization for CO2 Exposure and Perspectives; was published in ACS Omega on 23rd June 2023. In this paper, he presents a literature study on geopolymer systems as CO2-resistant wellbore sealants, focusing on optimizing mechanical properties, permeability, and chemical durability, and identifying research gaps and challenges. Hasan is currently dedicated to developing a granite-based geopolymer wellbore sealant tailored for CCS application, evaluating its behaviour when exposed to brine and CO2 under simulated high-pressure, high-temperature conditions.

If you would like to know more, check the Cementegrity website, or contact the team. Hasan will also present some of his ongoing work at the upcoming webinar with Cementegrity, SHARP and RETURN, on 14 September. You can sign up for the webinar here.

The LOUISE project will reduce the CO2 capture cost by the innovative Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) technology

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The LOUISE project will prepare for a pre-commercial demonstration of Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) of solid waste-derived fuels, an innovative process for generating power and heat from waste (waste-to-energy, WtE), providing a concentrated stream of CO2.

The project is funded through the ACT3 call and will be in operation until end of 2024. The project manager is Jochen Ströhle from Technische Universität Darmstadt. The project has partners from Germany, Greece, Norway, and Turkey.

The researchers in LOUISE are working closely with industrial partners. The interesting general assembly in Fredrikstad, Norway, in May 2023 showed the value of close interaction between academic and industrial partners. Read more.

After the General Assembly a news story about LOUISE achievements was published in local media. Read more.

Results from LOUISE were also presented at the TCCS conference. Read more.

Two of the project partners, SINTEF and TU Darmstadt, recently got funding for a transnational collaboration through the ECCSEL program. Test operation at a CLC pilot unit will be performed and results will be relevant input for the planned testing at larger scale in a 1 MWth unit. The LOUISE team will in the coming months keep us all updated with results at their project website.

Capturing CO2 with the best materials we can make

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The PrISMa Project, funded by the second ACT call, have completed its activities with very interesting results. The project have screened thousands of materials to find the best candidates for CO2 capture. The most promising materials have been synthesized, characterized and tested, and tailormade capture technologies have been made.

The PrISMa team have produced many interesting publications, and you can find them here. You can also find more details at the PrISMa web site.

Final report from the DIGIMON project

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The DigiMon project has studied monitoring of CO2 storage sites and very interesting results have been achieved.

The DigiMon objective is to accelerate the implementation of CCS by developing and demonstrating an affordable, flexible, societally embedded and smart Digital Monitoring early-warning system, for monitoring any CO2 storage reservoir and subsurface barrier system.

Read more about achievements, results and deliverables at the Digimon website. The final report can be downloaded here.

Final report from the SENSE project

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The SENSE project was completed early 2023 with very interesting results. SENSE has focused on the geomechanical aspects of CO2 storage sites and the deformation induced in surrounding formations and observed at surface.

Geomechanics controls the integrity of storage sites. Experimental and numerical studies showed that ground deformation monitoring will reveal geomechanical changes that can easily be measured. And the good news is that ground deformations can be calculated beforehand using a mathematical solution developed in SENSE. This solution is available for calculating ground deformation around and above storage reservoir. This implies that operators do not need to do a costly, full geomechanical modelling in the planning phase of the project but instead do a quick and inexpensive first-order estimation that is reliable. The good news is that ground deformation, which we propose as a monitoring parameter, is not a stand-alone study but can use the same model as used for analysing faults, fractures, etc.

SENSE has propose a monitoring workflow that includes ground deformation and you can read about this and other results in the SENSE Final Report (download)

The Clearwater Clean Energy Conference

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The next Clearwater Clean Energy Conference will take place in Florida, USA, 23-27 July 2023.

The Clearwater Clean Energy Conference has drawn attendees from around the globe to Clearwater, Florida, since 1989. This conference provides essential information to power generators who must meet the pressures of energy utilization in the 21st century. This conference has earned a reputation for excellence as one of the premier conferences on energy technologies as it has grown in size and scope since its inception in 1975. Increased demand – coupled with energy security issues and uncertainty in the oil sector – make this conference a must for those involved in all aspects of power generation who must meet the competitive pressures and ongoing environmental concerns. The technical sessions, short courses, and panels offer cutting-edge developments dealing with technical solutions to problems; specific strategies; projects; innovations; industry trends; and/or regulatory compliance will be offered. The program presents an extensive overview of emerging, evolving, and innovative technologies, fuels, and/or equipment in the power generation industry. The conference committee seeks papers from all countries worldwide.

Read more here

The ACT Open Call - Applications can be submitted now

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The ACT Open Call is a funding scheme that can support innovative and international CCUS projects. The ACT Open Call is open for applications throughout 2023 and the funding scheme closes at 31 December 2023.

Funding agencies from Alberta (Canada), Germany, Norway, and Switzerland are participating in the ACT Open Call.

The ambition is to attract CCUS projects operating at high Technology Readiness Level (TRL). Applications must have high industrial involvement and it must be documented that the project can lead to deployment of full scale CCUS projects.

Read more here about how to submit an application.

REX-CO2: all you need to know about re-using wells

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The REX-CO2 project has reached its end date and very interesting results have been delivered. The project has studied re-use of existing wells for CO2 storage.

Existing wells from the oil and gas business present both an opportunity and a challenge for CCUS development. Substantial cost savings can be achieved by re-using existing oil and gas infrastructure for CO2 Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS).

The REX-CO2 project have delivered results on risk management and potential for re-using wells for CO2 storage. Read more about it in REX-CO2 Final Report.

All deliverables, including a tool for well integrity, can be downloaded from the REX-CO2 web site.

Results and impact from ACT presented at GHGT-16

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A paper presenting results and impacts from ACT was presented at the GHG-16 conference.

Since ACT’s start in 2015 participating organizations have allocated close to € 100 M in funding for 33 international research, development and innovation (RD&I) projects. The added value of the joint international effort is alignment of national RD&I strategies and larger projects with higher impact than what would have been possible with only national projects. The projects funded by ACT have closed knowledge gaps, established well-functioning RD&I collaboration across borders, built relations between academia and industry, and made important contributions to dissemination of key messages beyond the scientific community

The full paper can be downloaded here.

Opportunities and Challenges for the Decarbonization of the Maritime Sector, 14 October 2022, ACT 2 MemCCSea Final Dissemination and Networking Event

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The MemCCSea EU research project and CERTH organize a dissemination and networking event which aims to present the key project results in a wider audience while providing a forum for discussion in the general frame of shipping industry decarbonization. Read more here and here

News from the ACT4 Call

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ACT received 16 applications to the ACT4 call, which closed on 12 September 2022. There is a good contribution of participation by ACT funding countries/regions: Alberta province of Canada, Germany, India, Norway, and the USA.

The Projects were encouraged to target issues defined by:

• The SET-Plan CCS and CCU Implementation Plan

• Mission Innovation Research Priorities

The projects ask in total for € 29 M funding from ACT, which is twice the available budget. The applications will be evaluated and ranked according to procedures described in the ACT4 call text. A common decision on funding will be made by the involved funding agencies and the decision will be communicated to the applicants by the Call Secretariat at the Research Council of Norway in December 2022. The successful projects are foreseen to start early 2023.

Possibilities for funding projects within the CCUS domain and Hydrogen & Renewable fuels

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ACT funders and collaborators have new opportunities for funding in the domain of CCU and Hydrogen and renewable fuels. The Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) is a multilateral and strategic partnership of national and regional research, development and innovation (RDI) programmes in European Member States and Associated Countries aiming to boost and accelerate the energy transition and to support the implementation of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan). It will launch its first call on 13 September 2022. Read more here and here

CCUS Event, 8-10 June, Rotterdam, Presentations

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A high level conference and CCUS event, co-organised by CATO, the Norwegian Embassy in The Hague, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and ACT, was held in Rotterdam. One day was dedicated to the ACT2 and ACT3 projects, when they presented their progress. Please find project presentations and presentations on the “Development, Challenges and Opportunities for CCUS in Europe’s fight against climate change” here and a brief report of the meeting here