PROPONENTS LAUNCH CONSORTIUM OF CO2 CAPTURE TEST FACILITIES

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
2/1/13

The operators of Norway’s carbon capture test center at Mongstad launched an international consortium this week aimed at helping the industry share knowledge and operating experience from similar testing facilities. The chairman of the recently-launched Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) announced the creation of the International CCS Test Center Network Jan. 31. Tore Amundsen, who is also CEO of Gassnova, the Norwegian government’s CCS RD&D arm, said the knowledge-sharing group will aim to spearhead technological advancements in the carbon capture market. “The idea is that instead of competing as test centers, we’re trying to leverage our capabilities by sharing information and working on a multilateral basis,” Amundsen told GHG Monitor.

Through regular meetings and a constantly-updated website, members will be able to share construction and operational experience, as well as technological developments, Amundsen said, creating what he believes to be the world’s first network of carbon capture centers. “We’ll be sharing some of the information coming out of the tests and demonstrations that each of us are going to do, to the extent that will be possible without infringing upon the intellectual property rights that third parties might have,” he added. “We still believe that there will be a lot of information we can share with other people, particularly related to operating experiences.” The consortium will eventually establish performance indicators and promote technology standardization, he said.

Group Aims to Unite Field

The effort, first reported by GHG Monitor in September, is aimed at uniting a slowly expanding field that has seen little coordination and knowledge-sharing to date. TCM—a joint venture by Gassnova, Statoil, Shell and Sasol—will be leading the consortium, according to Amundsen. Groups like the Japanese J-Power, the German-based E.ON and the British DOOSAN Power are part of the initial membership group. The Department of Energy’s National Carbon Capture Center in Alabama is also part of the consortium, as are the operators of Southern Company’s 25 MW demonstration facility at Plant Barry. Boundary Dam developer SaskPower, which is also developing its own carbon capture test facility at its Shand power station in southeast Saskatchewan, has also joined the network, according to TCM.

Amundsen said the group will also aim to share best practices and drum up public confidence in CCS by communicating successes in the field. “This is absolutely the right time to launch this knowledge sharing network. Every day, in test centers around the world, we see advancements in CCS technology with new experiences, lessons and solutions being developed,” he said in a statement. “However, this knowledge is often not shared because there has been no appropriate forum for doing so. This network will change that for the benefit of everyone.”