What geological CO2 storage can bring to mitigating climate change – UK research perspective

Summary of outcomes from the meeting now available here.

In order to achieve the 2 degrees scenario (2DS) described in the IEA Energy Technology Perspectives Report, a range of urgent actions are required as set out in the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is highlighted as an important option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in fact 85% of scenarios in AR5 require negative emissions via bioenergy with CCS in order to achieve the 2DS. Geological storage has been demonstrated at a number of sites across the world, including the Sleipner and Snohvit sites in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Potential options for storing carbon dioxide (CO2) deep underground in the UK offshore have been assessed over the last 20 years. Most recently, through the ‘CCS competition’ coordinated by the UK Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) studies for two projects with storage in the UK sector of the North Sea have been supported. As North Sea demonstration projects move forward, new challenges that require additional research in order to refine various aspects of geological storage technology emerge. UK research partnerships have a key role to play in responding to these challenges.

This event, which will be co-hosted by CO2GeoNet-BGS and UKCCSRC, will be a focused networking workshop. The proposed and active North Sea demonstration projects will be used to highlight the remaining research needs that can be tackled by UK research partnerships. The focus of the meeting will be to connect researchers, SMEs and industrial players working to get CO2 storage off the ground in the UK. The event will support the creation of new partnerships between industrial site operators, academic/research institutes and SMEs.

The outline of the event is as follows: Demonstration project operators will describe their identified research gaps and technology needs followed by short presentations from the researchers and SMEs on their (technology) research. The outcomes of the event will be identified technology needs and new research connections.

The aim of the event is to increase dialogue between key stakeholders and develop new research partnerships by drawing together active participants in the UK CCS arena. The event has been recognised as an accredited side event for the pre-COP scientific conference ‘Our common future under climate change’. Following the event, a summary of the main outcomes will be published as a public report on the conference side event webpage.

Please contact Ceri Vincent, BGS at cvi@bgs.ac.uk if you have any questions about this meeting.

REGISTRATIONS FOR THIS MEETING ARE NOW CLOSED.

PROVISIONAL AGENDA:

Time

Name

Institution

Presentation

09:30 – 10:00

Registration and coffee

 

 

Morning session: Setting the scene, the CCS landscape in the UK, North Sea and beyond and identifying further research opportunities

This session highlights CCS as a key mitigation technology and sets the scene for CCS in the UK. Demonstration site operators and developers will comment on the advanced readiness of CCS and the remaining research improvements to refine aspects of CO2 storage highlighted by the demonstration projects as we move forward to large scale deployment.

Chair: Ceri Vincent, British Geological Survey

 

 

10:00 – 10:10

Ceri J Vincent

British Geological Survey

Welcome, outline and event objectives

10:10 – 10:30

Will Lochhead

Department of Environment and Climate Change

Keynote: Supporting CCS Deployment – The UK Government Policy Framework

10:30 – 10:50

Keith Whiriskey

Bellona

What geological storage of CO2 can contribute to mitigating climate change

10:50 – 11:10

Andrew Green

Energy Technologies Institute

The business case for CCS in the UK

11:10 – 11:30

Marcella Dean

Shell

Moving from demonstration to large scale geological storage in the UK North Sea – an operator’s perspective on research needs

11:30 – 11:50

Andrew Cavanagh

Statoil

CO2 geological storage in the North Sea – a storage operator’s perspective after injection of 20 million tonnes

11:50 – 12:10

Mervyn Wright

National Grid

CO2 storage – research needs for storage hubs and clusters in the UK

12:10 – 12:30

Graham Brown

Sonardyne

Research needs to support geological storage and the international market for monitoring technologies

Robert Hines

Fugro GEOS

 

12:30 – 13:30

Networking lunch

 

Afternoon sessions: Research developments

These sessions allow for brief presentations by researchers and SMEs on current and new technologies and techniques applicable to offshore storage with a focus on filling the gaps identified by the morning session.

Chair: Tom Mallows, The Crown Estate

 

13:30 – 13:40

Tom Mallows

The Crown Estate

Introduction to afternoon sessions

 

 

< p>Session 1: Deep and downhole m
onitoring techniques and technologies

 

13:40 – 13:50

Marcella Dean

Shell

Technology development for Peterhead CCS and Quest CCS

13:50 – 14:00

Andy Chadwick

British Geological Survey

Verification of large-scale CO2 storage: The role of time-lapse seismics

14:00 – 14:10

Doug Angus

University of Leeds

Advanced seismic techniques

14:10 – 14:20

Laurence Cowton

University of Cambridge

Quantifying thin CO2 plumes using time-lapse seismic reflections’

14:20 – 14:30

Tom Parker

Silixa

Distributed acoustic and temperature optic fibre technologies

14:30 – 14:40

Discussion

 

Session 2: Shallow monitoring technologies and techniques

 

14:40 – 14:50

Ian Wright

National Oceanographic Centre

AUV and sensor development for CCS MMV

14:50 – 15:00

Jerry Blackford

Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Quantifying baselines of chemistry and biology and modelling of leakage scenarios to for efficient monitoring

15:00 – 15:10

Damien Weidmann

STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Laser system for wide surface area mapping of CO2 emissions

15:10 – 15:20

Discussion

 

15:20 – 15:40

Coffee

 

Session 3: Other research developments

 

Chair: Ceri Vincent, British Geological Survey

 

15:40 – 15:50

Tom Mallows

The Crown Estate

The Crown Estate – CO2 storage research overview

15:50 – 16:00

Sam Krevor

Imperial College London

Characterising CO2 flow and trapping in storage reservoirs

16:10 – 16:20

Florian Doster

Heriot-Watt University

Fit-for-purpose modelling for CO2 storage

16:20 – 16:30

Discussion

 

Closing Session: What’s next for CCS in the UK?

 

Chair: Ceri Vincent, British Geological Survey

 

16:30 – 17:15

Panel session: What’s next for CCS in the UK?

Andrew Purvis

Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute

Theo Mitchell

Carbon Capture and Storage Association

Tim Dixon

IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme

17:15 – 17:30

Jonathan Pearce

CO2GeoNet-BGS

Thanks and close of meeting

 

 

 

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