Reserves and resources for CO2 storage in Europe: the CO2StoP project

Abstract

The challenge of climate change demands reduction in global CO2 emissions. In order to fight global warming many countries are looking at technological solutions to keep the release of CO2 into the atmosphere under control. One of the most promising techniques is carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), also known as CO2 geological storage. CCS can reduce the world’s total CO2 release by about one quarter by 2050 (IEA 2008, 2013; Metz et al. 2005). CCS usually involves a series of steps: (1) separation of the CO2 from the gases produced by large power plants or other point sources, (2) compression of the CO2 into supercritical fluid, (3) transportation to a storage location and (4) injecting it into deep underground geological formations. CO2StoP is an acronym for the CO2 Storage Potential in Europe project. The CO2StoP project which started in January 2012 and ended in October 2014 included data from 27 countries (Fig. 1). The data necessary to assess potential locations of CO2 storage resources are found in a database set up in the project. A data analysis system was developed to analyse the complex data in the database, as well as a geographical information system (GIS) that can display the location of potential geological storage formations, individual units of assessment within the formations and any further subdivisions (daughter units, such as hydrocarbon reservoirs or potential structural traps in saline aquifers). Finally, formulae have been developed to calculate the storage resources. The database is housed at the Joint Research Centre, the European Commission in Petten, the Netherlands.