Carbon Capture and Storage – Climate-Friendly Fossil Fuel? – Dr. Mark Wilkinson for NRN-LCEE Public Lecture Series

In this lecture, Dr Mark Wilkinson, from the University of Edinburgh, will give an overview on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and its applications in Wales and the rest of the UK

In light of the recent Climate Summit in Paris (COP21) and the agreements formed, he will explain the significance of CCS for future energy demand and climate change, but also explain the problems and challenges faced in order to make CCS feasible on an industrial scale. 

In his lecture, he will highlight specific opportunities for CCS in Wales, and discuss potential conflicts with other subsurface technologies, such as geothermal energy, and the potential impacts emissions from liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals may have. Finally, he will discuss possibilities and challenges for biomass CCS, and its viability in the UK.

Mark is lecturer in Geological Carbon Storage at the University of Edinburgh. He studies the storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in rocks underground, particularly how much can be stored and where, and how to mitigate CO₂ leakage from storage sites – in the unlikely event that this happened. He has a PhD from Leicester University studying sandstones, the rocks that most CO₂ from the UK will probably be stored in. He has previously worked in the Universities of Liverpool and Glasgow, studying mineral growth in sandstones as they are buried below the Earth’s surface. He teaches field geology and petroleum geology and leads a Masters’ course in Carbon Capture and Storage.

NRN-LCEE public lectures are free to attend and open to the general public. This lecture will be recorded and will be available on the NRN-LCEE website after the event.