New research center dedicated to the realisation of gigatonne CCS
In April, The Research Council of Norway announced funding of 180 MNOK for gigaCCS, a new research center on carbon capture, transport, and storage (CCS) in Norway.
Mona Mølnvik (SINTEF), Anna Pontén (Equinor), and Olav Bolland (NTNU) celebrate the announcement of a new CCS research center ( Photo: Sintef)
gigaCCS is a Centre for Environment-Friendly Energy Research (FME) that will advance Norway’s expertise in CCS and support its global implementation at a gigatonne scale.
This eight-year center (2025-2032) will build on the successful collaborations and innovations of its FME predecessor, the Norwegian CCS Research Centre (NCCS), which is due to conclude this year.
- CCS deployment at gigatonne scale is vital for a just and sustainable transition to net-zero emissions, said Mona Mølnvik, research director at SINTEF Energy Research and director of NCCS, who will continue in that position for gigaCCS.
Elin Skurtveit is NGI’s project leader in the NCCS and will be central in the upcoming gigaCCS.
- NGI will be an active research partner in the gigaCCS center, contributing with our knowledge in seal integrity, risk assessment, and monitoring, says Elin Skurtveit.
NGI's Elin Skurtveit will be central to the work in the upcoming gigaCCS
gigaCCS will support CCS deployment at scale
The International Energy Agency has described CCS as a “crucial” tool for reaching our climate goals due to its ability to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries and enable negative-emission technologies. But in order for CCS to fulfil its potential, its deployment needs to be scaled up so that gigatonnes of CO2 are stored per year.
gigaCCS will address this challenge by developing and producing competitive CCS technologies that will increase value and reduce risk for industry and society through strategic competence and capacity building.
Industry-driven research
Swift and efficient CCS deployment at scale will require a joint effort between industrial actors and the R&D community. gigaCCS will serve as a collaborative arena, consisting of 43 R&D and industry partners and over 30 associated partners, to ensure that its work is relevant and has the highest possible impact. SINTEF will be the host and leader of gigaCCS.
A primary goal for gigaCCS is to ensure that the time from solutions being developed in the laboratories to when they can be implemented in society is as short as possible. Collaboration in FME centers acts as a platform for growth that secures and improves the competitive power of large parts of the Norwegian industry and everyone to whom they provide services.
Tore Ingvald Bjørnarå
Principal engineer Advanced Modelling tore.ingvald.bjornara@ngi.no+47 908 59 184