Project description
Safe and scalable CO2 storage in volcanic regions
As the world strives to achieve a climate-neutral society, urgent action is needed to curb emissions. Hard-to-abate industries contribute about 10 % of current CO2 emissions, and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a crucial technology for decarbonising this sector. However, sscaling CCS from the current storage of 40 Mt/yr to gigatonne levels by 2050 faces the challenge of CO2 leakage. Traditional storage methods in deep sedimentary formations risk this issue, as CO2 is buoyant. CO2SINk aims to prove an innovative storage concept in deep volcanic areas, where CO2 is denser than water, reducing leakage risks. By addressing potential risks like induced seismicity, CO2SINk could scale CCS dramatically, with the potential to store up to 1 Gt/yr by 2050.
Objective
CO2SINk aims at proving the effectiveness of an innovative CO2 storage concept in deep volcanic areas that reduces the leakage risk. Humans need to take urgent action to achieve a climate-neutral society. Among the necessary actions, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) will enable decarbonizing the hard-to-abate industry, which represents some 10% of the current CO2 emissions and can even provide net-carbon removal if it is combined with bioenergy (BECCS) or direct air capture (DACCS). To effectively mitigate climate change, CCS should scale up from the current 40 Mt/yr of stored CO2 to the gigatonne scale by 2050. Yet, one of the main risks of CCS is CO2 leakage because CO2 is buoyant in the conventional concept of storing CO2 in deep sedimentary formations. The leakage risk can be significantly reduced by storing CO2 in deep volcanic areas where water stays in supercritical state because at these pressure and temperature conditions CO2 is denser than water and thus, sinks. Therefore, this novel storage concept, if proven effective, would improve the safety of CCS and would amplify the storage options. We estimate that a few hundreds of wells could be storing CO2 in deep volcanic areas by 2050, representing a storage on the order of 1 Gt/yr. This storage capacity highlights the high gain of the proposal. Nonetheless, injecting CO2 in deep volcanic areas also entails high risks: (1) potential long-term CO2 leakage due to convective fluid flow and (2) potential induced seismicity above acceptable levels. We will investigate the extent of these risks and propose mitigation measures to manage them. We will disseminate and communicate the project outcome to the scientific community, society, policy makers and companies. We plan to patent this storage concept if it is proved to be effective and will establish a commercialization roadmap with the advice of industrial collaborators and experts in knowledge transfer.
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2022-POC2
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
28006 MADRID
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.