IFPEN hosts ACTiON project meeting in France
ACTiON partners gathered at the headquarters of IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) in Rueil-Malmaison near Paris this week to share updates from the first six months of the project, with progress being made across four major areas of research.
The project, funded by the ERA-NET ACT fund and industry, aims to establish how an efficient infrastructure connecting CO2 sources with geological storage and utilisation options can be developed as part of regional decarbonisation efforts.
At the meeting, partners shared progress on the first four work packages (WPs), which centre on the development of proxy models for geological reservoirs, CO2 transport networks, and CO2 utilisation and conversion technologies, as well as storage and network risk dynamics.
Modelling CO2 storage systems
WP1 focusses on the development of proxy models that capture the geological characteristics and dynamic behaviour of different subsurface storage systems, including saline aquifers and depleted gas reservoirs, and can provide relevant dynamic feedback at appropriate time scales.
To construct proxy models for saline aquifers, researchers from IFPEN have built a database of real CO2 injection case studies. Using a 3D generic reservoir and near wellbore model with different wells, the team will estimate the impact of sharp changes in injection temperature or rate.
Elsewhere, modelling of key geomechanical processes will allow researchers to understand the conditions that could potentially lead to fault reactivation and fracturing, with researchers from TNO utilising case histories from depleted gas reservoirs and a team from Imperial College London drawing on work from the In Salah CO2 storage project in Algeria.
Researchers from the University of Alberta, meanwhile, shared work on the development of models that used real field data to evaluate the conformance, containment and injectivity performance of the storage and overlying caprock formations from Aquistore, a CCUS project in Saskatchewan, Canada.
The University of Alberta is also leading WP3, using machine learning algorithms (e.g. POD-ARX, CNN, PCE) trained on history match physics-based models and field performance data to simulate large numbers of system configurations in order to characterise integrated storage and network risk dynamics.
Towards CO2 transport networks
Supporting the design and management of CO2 transport networks is the aim of WP2. Researchers from TNO are working on the development of well-pipeline proxy models and a simulation tool for pipeline networks linking CO2 emitters to users and storage reservoirs.
At Imperial, researchers are building on previous work on source and sink matching and developing a multimode transport network design which will be used later in the project to support the strategic decarbonisation of CCUS in six industrial regions.
Work has also begun at Imperial on multi-agent modelling of CCUS systems. The research will lead to a multi-agent optimisation tool, able to accurately reflect not only the physical assets of the system, but also regulatory, market and economic situations in a given region.
Conversion technologies and life cycle assessment
Los Alamos National Laboratory updated partners on WP4, which aims to develop proxy models for CO2 utilisation and conversion technologies. This includes the production of fuels and chemicals through chemical and biological conversion and the production of construction materials through carbonation.
It is hoped the models will reduce the time it takes to evaluate the combined effectiveness of multiple utilisation technologies for regional deployment.
WP4 will also see the development of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) models covering the value chain for transport, utilisation and storage options. The models, which are being developed at Imperial and IFPEN, will complement existing inventory models developed by the Imperial team.