CO2

OCTAVIUS (2012-2017)

OCTAVIUS is a FP7 project dedicated to CO₂ Capture and Storage. CCS will allow the mitigation of GHGT emissions.
This R&D project has started on 1rst of mars 2012 for a 5 years duration. Within OCTAVIUS will be demonstrated the postcombustion CO₂ capture processes on 3 pilot plants with a representative capacity.
>> OCTAVIUS website
>> Press release: "Launch of the European Octavius research project for the industrial demonstration of post-combustion CO2 capture" (21 March 2012)

CO2CARE (2011-2013)

The CO₂CARE (CO₂ Site Closure Assessment Research) project aims to support the large scale demonstration of CCS technology by addressing the research requirements of CO₂ storage site abandonment. It will deliver technologies and procedures for abandonment and post-closure safety, satisfying the regulatory requirements for transfer of responsibility. The project will focus on three key areas: well abandonment and long-term integrity; reservoir management and prediction from closure to the long-term; risk management methodologies for long-term safety. The project is coordinated by the German GFZ research center and brings together 22 partners.
>> CO2CARE website

SiteChar (2011-2013)

Coordinated by IFP Energies nouvelles, the SiteChar project brings together another sixteen partners from research and industry, as well as the consultancy sector, from ten EU countries: AGH, ECN, ENEL, GEUS, GFZ, IMPERIAL, NERC, OGS, PGNiG, Statoil, TNO, SINTEF-PR, UniRoma1-CERI, UfU, Vattenfall and the Scottish Government. The SiteChar project is also supported by Veolia Environnement. Scheduled to last 3 years, the SiteChar project has a total budget of €5 million, €3.7 million of which is a European Commission grant.
 
Five potential European storage sites, representative of the various geological contexts have been selected as test sites for the research work: a North Sea offshore multistorage site (hydrocarbon field and aquifer) in Scotland, an onshore aquifer in Denmark, an onshore gas field in Poland, an offshore aquifer in Norway and, finally, an aquifer in the Southern Adriatic Sea.
 
SiteChar will examine the entire site characterization chain, from the initial feasibility studies through to the final stage of application for a storage license, on the basis of criteria defined by the relevant European legislation: storage capacities, modeling of aquifers at basin or reservoir scale, injection scenarios, risk assessment, development of the site monitoring plan, technical and economic analysis (assessment of all the costs related to storage), public awareness, etc.
The objective is to supply a methodological guide adapted to each of these specific geological contexts for use by storage site operators and regulatory bodies.
>> More information on the SiteChar project
>> Press Release: "Geological storage of CO₂ - New project launched to improve site characterisation for CO₂ storage" (19/01/2011)

iCap (2010-2013)

IFP Energies nouvelles is involved in the iCap (Innovative CO₂ Capture) project coordinated by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim as part of FP7. iCap brings together 15 partners representing the main players in the field of post-combustion CO₂ capture.
The aim of the project is to develop breakthrough technologies that can be applied to post-combustion CO₂capture. These technologies will make it possible to cut investment costs by 30 to 40% and the energy penalty linked to CO2 capture by 40 to 45%.
These technologies notably include:
- the use of phase change solvents,
- combination of SO₂ and CO₂ absorption,
- the use of CO₂-selective low-temperature membranes,
- the development of new energy production cycles with CO₂ capture.
For this project, IFP Energies nouvelles is coordinating the studies dedicated to phase change solvents and is in charge of developing the separation process using hydrates, which will be conducted in cooperation with Armines.

ECCO (2008-2011)

IFP Energies nouvelles participates in ECCO (European value chain for CO₂) , EU collaboration project under the FP7. The main objective of ECCO is to facilitate robust strategic decision making regarding early and future implementation of CO₂ value chains.
ECCO, coordinated by SINTEF Energy Research, has a total budget of 5.35 M€ over three years, and gathers 18 partners from nine countries of the European Union, experts in the fields of the CSC.
IFP Energies nouvelles works on modeling technical and economic evaluation of the CSC chain with a focus on enhanced oil and gas recovery with CO₂ injection (EOR/EGR).
>> More information on the ECCO project

COCATE (2010 - 2012)

Led by IFP Energies nouvelles, the European research project COCATE, the project brings eight other research and industrial partners: Le Havre Region Development Agency (France), Geogreen (France), Accoat (Denmark), SINTEF Energy Research (Norway), DNV (Norway), TNO (Netherlands), Port of Rotterdam NV (Netherlands) and SANERI (South Africa).
COCATE's objective is to analyze the conditions for transporting the flue gases emitted from several CO₂-emitting industrial facilities with a view to pooling the capture process, and for exporting large quantities of captured CO₂ to storage areas.
The Le Havre region and the Port of Rotterdam have been selected as test sites for the research work conducted by the partners involved in the COCATE project.
This 3-year project has a total budget of €4.5 million, nearly €3 million of which is contributed by the European Commission.
>> More information on the COCATE project
>> Press release: "Transporting CO₂ - Launch of the European COCATE project led by IFP Energies nouvelles" (08/12/2009)

CLEO (2008-2011)

The CLEO (Carbon Lean Energy Operations) project was created after 5 new industry partners (EnBW, EDF, ENEL, AKER and HITACHI) applied to take part in the CESAR project. Since the CESAR project had already been launched, the European Commission's legal specialists asked for a industrial project to be created. CLEO, which is not managed by the European Commission, supplements the CESAR project.
For the CLEO project, IFP Energies nouvelles coordinates the following activities:
- chemical engineering measurements during test campaigns with MEA (CESAR 1 & CESAR 2),
- modeling of operation with MEA of the Esbjerg pilot unit absorber fitted with a new packing.

CESAR (2008-2011)

CESAR (CO₂ Enhanced Separation and Recovery) aims for a breakthrough in the development of low-cost post-combustion CO₂ capture technology in order to provide an economically feasible solution for both new large scale power plants and retrofit of existing power plants. CESAR is a European FP7 project coordinated by TNO.
CESAR is in the continuation of the previous FP6 integrated project CASTOR coordinated by IFP Energies nouvelles. The existing pilot built in Esbjerg power plant (Denmark) in the frame of this previous project will be re-used for CESAR.
For this project IFP Energies nouvelles coordinates the research on advanced separation processes and is in charge of development of new membrane contactors, development carried out with the SME Polymem and ENSIC-Nancy.
>> More information on the CESAR project

DECARBit (2008-2011)

DECARBit - short for "Decarbonise it" - responds to the urgent need for further research and development in advanced pre-combustion capture techniques to substantially reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel power plants.The project will accelerate the technology development and contribute to the deployment of large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) plants, in line with the adopted European policies for emission reductions.
Within the project, IFP Energies nouvelles is involved in the development of a technological innovation that consists in using adsorbents in a revolving-bed reactor at high temperature to separate the oxygen from air. Using oxygen rather than air in the reformer (or gasifier) reduces the overall cost of CO₂ capture.
DECARBit gathers 21 partners. Its activities comprise theoretical and experimental investigations leading to full pilot testing.
>> More information on the DECARBit project

CO2ReMoVe (2006 - 2011)

CO₂ReMoVe is another European project funded under FP6. The goal, here, is to find CO₂ geological storage verification and surveillance systems.
The goal of the project is to propose the development and application of a range of monitoring techniques, applied across an integrated portfolio of storage sites such as Sleipner, Snovhit, In-Salah and Ketzin.
CO₂ReMoVe gathers 27 partners spanning industrial firms, research centers and service providers with experience in CO₂ geological storage.
In the CO₂ReMoVe project, IFP Energies nouvelles is coordinating tasks associated with modeling efficiency on industrial sites providing geological storage for CO₂.
>> More information on the CO₂ReMoVe project

CASTOR (completed)

This EC-funded and IFP Energies nouvelles-run project involves capturing and providing geological storage for 30% of the emissions released by large industrial facilities around Europe (conventional power stations, principally), i.e. for 10% of Europe's CO₂ emissions.
Castor brings together members from 11 EU countries, including 30 industrial firms (Dong Energy, Vattenfall, Repsol, Statoil, GDF Suez, Rohoel, etc) and 12 research institutes (IFP Energies nouvelles, BGRM, Imperial College, TNO, BGS, IFP Energies nouvelles, etc.).
It inaugurated its pilot industrial facility alongside a power plant run by Dong Energy (formerly Elsam) in Esbjerg, Denmark, on 15 mars 2006. This facility can capture one ton of CO₂ an hour.
>> More information on the Castor project
>> More information on the industrial pilot unit of the Castor project

ENCAP (completed)

Vattenfall, an energy company, is running ENCAP, another FP6 project dealing with capturing CO₂ from conventional power stations.
IFP Energies nouvelles is mainly involved in the Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) subproject alongside Alstom, Siemens, Sintef, TNO and Chalmers University of Technology, among other partners. CLC technology is used to convert hydrocarbon fuel directly into CO₂ and H₂O. The oxygen is supplied via a metal oxide, alternately oxidized by air and reduced by the fuel.
IFP Energies nouvelles is thus working on methods for the industrial production of materials (metal oxide-based) intended for use in fluidized beds as well as the development of a natural gas-powered rotating CLC reactor designed for gas turbines.
>> More information on the ENCAP project

EU GEOCAPACITY (completed)

UE GeoCapacity aimed at developing a tool to appraise CO₂ geological-storage capacity in aquifers, hydrocarbon reservoirs and unused coal seams.
Led by GEUS (Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland), the EU finded project gathered 26 partners.
IFP Energies nouvelles's role involved coordinating storage-capacity assessments in oil and gas reservoirs, coal seams, and aquifers.
>> More information on the EU GeoCapacity project

DeSANNS (completed)

The DeSANNS (Design Synthesis and Application of Novel Nanoporous Sorbents) project's goal was to develop new nanoporous materials for separation by adsorption, with a view to using them to purify hydrogen and capture CO₂.
IFP Energies nouvelles's role here was to contribute its experience with industrial issues: sharing information about applications, working on new process diagrams and most efficient material syntheses, providing preliminary economic assessments.
>> More information on the DeSANNS project

COACH (completed)

IFP Energies nouvelles was coordinating COACH, a project stemming from the agreement to work together against global warming that the European Union and China signed in 2006.
The eight Chinese and twelve European industrial firms, research centers and public-sector organizations working on this project have drafted the technical recommendations required to design a coal-fired power plant in China.
That plant will include facilities to capture CO₂ and the project will also deal with transport and storage of CO₂ in a mature oil and gas reservoir. Building work is scheduled to begin in 2011, and the capture and storage chain should come on stream in 2015.
>> More information on the COACH project

CAPRICE (completed)

Led by TNO, The project CAPRICE (CO₂ capture using Amine Process International Cooperation and Exchange) aimed at developing the international cooperation in the field of CO₂ capture by amines.
More specifically, findings from the European Castor project's MEA (Mono-Ethanol-Amine) will be compared with those of the University of Regina (Canada) and ITC (International Test Center).
>> More information on the CAPRICE project

CO2GeoNet (completed)

The CO₂GeoNet project aimed to improve CO₂ storage conditions in deep geological strata.
It gathered 13 partner universities and research centers from France (IFP Energies nouvelles, BRGM), the UK (BGS, Imperial College, Heriot-Watt University), Norway (SINTEF, IRIS, NIVA), Italy (OGS, University of Rome), Germany (BGR), Holland (TNO) and Denmark (GEUS).
>> More information on the CO₂GeoNet project

INCA-CO2 (completed)

Led by IFP Energies nouvelles, the project Inca-CO₂ (International Co-operation Actions on CO₂ Capture and Storage) aimed to coordinate and secure international exposure for Europe's expertise in the field of CO₂ capture.
IFP Energies nouvelles worked on this project with 6 European research centers and 4 leading industrial firms.