Seven papers submitted to Transport in Porous Media on the FluidFlower International Benchmark study

Over the last 2 years, CSSR deputy directors Martin Fernø (UiB/NORCE) and Jan Martin Nordbotten (UiB/NORCE), together with their research groups, have worked on developing the FluidFlower experimental rig to become an arena for international verification of geological carbon storage simulation capabilities.

This work is now culminating in a special issue of the journal Transport in Porous Media, with 15 contributed papers currently under review from around the world. The CSSR team is involved in seven of these papers, including the centerpieces of the effort. The interdisciplinary collaborative effort is a double-blind forecasting and validation study, where nine academic research groups active in numerical simulation of carbon storage from around the world forecasted the outcome of a carefully curated carbon storage operation in the FluidFlower (Flemisch et al.). The forecasting and validation study is made possible through a suite of laboratory work, involving petrophysical characterization and experiments, documented in detail to be available as a resource for carbon storage modelers worldwide (Fernø et al.). To bridge the gap between laboratory measurements and simulation technology required the development of DarSIA, a dedicated image analysis toolbox for porous media which has been released open-source (Nordbotten et al.).

Representative figure of results submitted by benchmark participants, described further in Flemish et al. The panels show spatial distribution of CO2 concentration in the liquid phase after 48 h. Red color indicates a maximum in dissolved CO2 concentration, while blue indicates absence of dissolved CO2.

The core papers mentioned above are supported by additional papers on the experimental methodology (Eikehaug et al.), detailed supporting experimental data (Haugen et al.) and the value of field-pilot type training data for operational forecasting (Saló-Salgado et al.). The final piece of the puzzle is showing how the learnings at the lab scale translate to the field scale, as analyzed by Tony Kovscek of Stanford University, who spent his sabbatical visiting Bergen during the fall of 2022 (Kovscek et al.).  

Timely review of subsurface carbon storage

A new review is published on subsurface CO2 and H2 storage: ‘Subsurface carbon dioxide & hydrogen storage for a sustainable energy future‘ from Krevor et al., in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.. This is a forward looking review where we evaluate the feasibility of expanding subsurface CO2 storage into a global-scale business, and translate lessons to H2 storage.  

Article for download: https://lnkd.in/egr7z8PQ
And freely available to read: https://rdcu.be/c3LE5

CCS is poised for widespread deployment, and it will happen fast if we have any chance of tracking IPCC pathways. What’s the hold-up? CO2 storage capacity has historically lagged behind capture capacity by 7-10 years. 96% of the worldwide storage potential is undiscovered. For Europe that translates to 172 Gt of storage waiting to be developed. There are no technical showstoppers here. Industry and research need to work together to make more headway on assessment of new storage sites. 

The paper provides an overview on:

➡ CCS Monitoring Technologies
➡ CCS Business Models 
➡ Analogies and Differences between CCS and Hydrogen
➡ The importance of social licenses to operate these technologies
➡ Ways for communities & governments to work together

Contributions by CSSR researchers: Sarah Gasda (NORCE) and Hadi Hajibeygi (TU Delft).

Expert interview of CSSR director

The news agency Deutsche Welle (DW) was in Norway covering the official opening of the Northern Lights visitors centre and stopped by NORCE to hear the perspectives of carbon storage experts on how CCS can help reduce emissions safely and effectively. The reporters viewed new simulation results of the FluidFlower study also took a tour of the lab where CO2 storage experiments are conducted.

Watch the video report to hear excerpts of the expert interview with Sarah Gasda, CSSR director. Many thanks to Ketil Djurhuus, Morten Aara and David Landa Marban for supporting the site visit.

https://hlsvod.dw.com/i/dwtv_video/flv/me/me221115_norway_,AVC_480x270,AVC_512x288,AVC_640x360,AVC_960x540,AVC_1280x720,AVC_1920x1080,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8

Date: November 15, 2022

Reporter: Max Zander, DW

Original story link

Vestland CCUS 2022

The annual seminar gathers representatives from research, academia, industry and the public sector from the greater Bergen region. A diverse and exciting two-day program highlighted cutting edge research and industrial innovations that will help accelerate deployment of CCUS technology in western Norway. Participants also had the unique opportunity to visit the Northern Lights site and hear the latest updates of the groundbreaking project.

The main message from participants is despite tremendous progress in recent years, time is running out! We need to move fast, we need to work together, and we need to innovate to reduce costs.

Group photo at Northern Lights visitor’s center. Photo credit: Veronica Helle, NORCE

The seminar was organized by NORCE and University of Bergen (UiB) in collaboration with Energiomstilling Vest, Grøn Region Vestland, Øygarden næringsutvikling KFGassnova SF og Bergen kommune. Read more on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7001834278216962048/

CSSR Kick-off event

The key to reduced emissions lies precisely in research,” stated Terje Aasland Minister Petroleum and Energy in his remarks to officially launch CSSR on September 7, 2022. The centre received many warm words from our invited guests (press release). A highlight video sums up the marking of our “favorite day at work.”


From Terje Aasland, Minister of Petroleum and Energy

– This is actually a favorite day on the job because it is about our future. Take advantage of new opportunities and use them in a good way.

Terje Aasland (Minister of Petroleum and Energy)

Minister Aasland continued, “the centre will produce new knowledge and develop better digital methods for energy efficient reservoir management … Emissions will be cut by 50% by 2030 towards net-zero by 2050. The key to reduced emission lies precisely in research.”

From Christine I. M. Abildgaard, Research Council of Norway

We are marking the opening of a very important centre, but is also highlights the high quality of your research. Research and innovation will be increasingly important in the future, not the least for energy security, for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and to transfer competence to new industry and business areas.

Christina I. M. Abildgaard (Research Council of Norway)

Abildgaard emphasized the prestige of a Petrocentre and the criteria for its success, namely “to produce knowledge of a high international level with transparent results, create research results that have a useful value for industry partners […] and development of new researchers, PhD candidates and Postdoctoral fellows.

From Arne Jacobsen, Norwegian Petroleum Directorate

The Norwegian continental shelf is in demand like never before. – A central factor is increased subsurface understanding.

Arne Jacobsen (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate)

Jacobsen further stated that CSSR has many synergies with NPD’s own strategy and plans. “Value for society is crucial, and therefore it’s important that research and development is directed where it creates the most value.”

From Camilla Vavik Pedersen, Equinor

– The tasks to be solved will be demanding, the questions to answer will be far from simple, top nodge researchers and experts will be extremely important in order to solve the task we have ahead of us.

Camilla Vavik Pedersen (Equinor)

“CSSR – Centre for Sustainable Subsurface Resources, sustainable, subsurface resources, three very important topics in the times of climate crisis, energy crisis and where things seem to be changing a bit unpredictable and very fast,” continued Pedersen. “We can make reservoir engineering popular again.”


A festive atmosphere

We were honored to have had so many friends and colleagues with us to celebrate of this fantastic achievement. Now, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Enjoy the photo gallery!

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Public lecture @ University Museum, Bergen

CSSR Centre Leaders Sarah Gasda and Martin Fernø have been invited to present CSSR and related CO2 storage research at a public lecture organized by NTVA, Academia Europaea and Tekna. The lecture will be held at the University Museum on May 24, 2022. A tour of the new exhibition “Vår Porøse Verden” and the FluidFlower will follow the lecture. Registration and further details are available on the UiB website.

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