ETI launches major project for future roll-out of carbon capture and storage in the UK

The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) launched a £3m project that will help support the future design, operation and roll-out of cost effective carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems in the UK, helping to ensure the UK’s leadership position in this area.

The two-and-a-half year long project will create a modelling tool-kit capable of simulating the operation of all aspects of the CCS chain, from capture and transport to storage.

It will involve modelling technology provider Process System Enterprise, energy consultancy E4tech, and industrial partners EDF Energy, E.ON, Rolls-Royce and Petrofac, who expect to be involved in capturing, compressing, transporting and storing CO2 in the future. The project is intended to result in a commercial modelling environment built on PSE’s gPROMS modelling platform.

The CCS System Modelling Tool-kit will be used to support the initial conceptual design and eventual detailed design and operation of CCS systems by helping to identify and understand system-wide operational issues such as the effects of power station ramp-up or ramp-down on downstream storage operation, or the effect of downstream disturbances on power generation.

It will benefit owners or developers of power stations who need to know the effect of CCS on their operations, future transport and storage operators and technology suppliers who will want to understand future requirements for their equipment. It will also provide policy makers with a powerful support tool to help with decisions related to overall CCS operation.

Dr David Clarke, ETI Chief Executive said: “The ETI’s Energy System Model has shown that around a third of the UK’s electricity could be generated from coal, gas, biomass or hydrogen turbines fitted with CCS by 2050.

“CCS infrastructure is complex and will need to be rolled out rapidly to meet those targets and our CCS Modelling project will play a crucial role in ensuring a practical, cost effective and robust network of assets.

“Without it, there is a risk of problems occurring as poorly optimised systems are developed and commissioned.

“The ETI project brings together stakeholders from the whole CCS chain from power station to storage, with a world-leading UK technology company providing the modelling know-how and software platform. It will help inform decisions at all levels, from strategic planning and system design to plant operation and maintenance.”

Costas Pantelides, PSE MD and chief architect of the new modelling tool-kit, said: “System-wide modelling is essential for understanding the interactions and trade-offs between components up and down the CCS chain.

“The end-to-end modelling tool that we are developing will support the optimal design and operation both of the individual components and of the overall system. It will also provide a coherent and open software framework within which other current and future industrial and academic developments for the model-based engineering of CCS chains may be incorporated.”

Adam Chase, Director of E4Tech, said "CCS is often considered in static and not dynamic terms – this project will address this, allowing decision-makers to explore the performance of a key part of the UK’s low carbon energy mix. We are very pleased to be managing such a strong team to achieve this.”

The ETI has already announced £29m worth of CCS projects, including a next generation capture demonstration project led by Costain and an appraisal of the UK’s potential storage sites led by Senergy.

The ETI is also commissioning a project to develop and demonstrate cheaper carbon capture technologies specifically for gas fired power stations. An announcement on who will carry out the work on this project is expected in early 2012.

The ETI is a public private partnership between six global industrial companies – BP, Caterpillar, EDF, E.ON, Rolls-Royce and Shell - and the UK Government tasked with developing “mass scale” technologies that will help the UK meet its 2020 and 2050 energy targets. It is concerned with identifying affordable, sustainable and secure energy across heat, power, transport and the infrastructure that links them.