US, Norway seek to improve CO2 capture
11/8/2013 12:00:00 AM
In a joint release, the two countries affirmed their continued commitment to enhance the development of technologies that will merge the need for reliable and cost efficient power production with sustainable deployment at large scale to meet the world’s growing demand for energy.
The announcement was made at the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum’s (CSLF) Ministerial Meeting, an international ministerial conference on carbon capture held this week in Washington, DC.
Under the agreement, US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Norweigan Minister for Petroleum and Energy Tord Lien will strengthen cooperation between the test centers for carbon capture. The aim is to accelerate the development of technologies that are needed to succeed.
The CCS Test Centre Network was first launched by the CO2 Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM, Norway), NCCC (US) and other carbon capture test facilities in late 2012.
The eight founding members of the Test Centre Network are: CO2 Technology Centre Mongstad (Norway), National Carbon Capture Center (Alabama, US), Southern Company’s CCS demonstration facility (Alabama, US), J-Power (Japan), ENEL Engineering and Research (IT), E.ON (Germany), DOOSAN Power Systems (UK) and SaskPower (Canada). Membership in the network is open to any large-scale CCS test centers.
The CCS Test Centre Network will be holding its first official meeting on November 25, 2013, in Brussels. In the portfolio of technologies needed, capture and use or storage of CO2 (CCS) from large point sources will be key, along with renewables and other measures to address climate and environmental concerns.
“A number of countries are involved in addition to Norway and US," said Dr. Moniz. "This provides enhanced technology learning which is beneficial to many, a base of factual evidence, increased awareness, acceptance and reduced risks.”
CCS is still at an early stage of commercial deployment, and there is a need for enhanced testing at large scale of CCS technology solutions worldwide in order to reduce cost, bridge the gap between R&D and commercial deployment, and increase confidence in the technology.
“We have agreed to move the cooperation within carbon capture to a new level," said Lien. "The pilot network will contribute to the development of carbon capture, and ensure that relevant technologies are adopted. In cooperation with our international partners, Norway will work to enhance the network. We also welcome other countries to join."
Lien stressed that carbon capture is one of several actions that must be taken in order to reduce emissions from fossil fuels, and that the technology being developed must be adopted globally. This requires cross-border cooperation.
“We all agree that we need to share ideas, knowledge and experiences in order to find commercially viable solutions," said Lien. "Existing infrastructure must be utilized in an efficient manner. We must learn as much as possible from each other. This requires cooperation and joint efforts from the industry, the research community and governments."
The network's stated goals are to:
• provide enhanced technical learning and confidence that can be beneficial for projects in applying more efficient CCS solutions
• increase insight and awareness of different technologies for relevant stakeholders that may reduce risks and increase investments in CCS technology
• provide a broader base of factual evidence which can increase general transparency of CCS, and thereby enhance public awareness and acceptance of the technology
• increase the value of public and private CCS research and technology investments through increased sharing of lessons learned and results from parallel activities
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