Capturing the potential of CCS

Imperial College London and Scottish power today announced a major new research partnership to investigate how carbon capture can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of power stations.

The Energy Futures Lab is today pleased to announce a major new research partnership with Scottish Power to investigate all aspects of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and its role in reducing the CO2 emissions of power stations.

For full details, please see Scottish Power's official press release.

Speaking in Westminster today Nick Horler Chief Executive of Scottish Power announced the formation of a new multi-million pound Academic Alliance between Scottish Power, Imperial College London and Edinburgh University to accelerate the adoption of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) for the mitigation of climate change caused by CO2 emissions from power stations.

Current CCS technology works by filtering harmful emissions through chemical solutions called amines that capture CO₂ so that it can be transported and stored deep underground in depleted oil and gas reservoirs and aquifers. CO2 capture has been demonstrated several times in small scale plant trials whilst the long term geological storage of CO2 builds upon over 50 years of learning by the oil industry. Translating these processes into an optimised, cost efficient and publically accepted process that is part of an integrated electricity generation company requires further research if the full economic and environmental potential of CCS is to be realised.

Accelerating Scottish Power's CCS capabilities, Imperial and Edinburgh shall be investigating every step of the CCS process, from improvements in capture plant design, optimised networks for CO2 transport to long-term geological storage - with particular emphasis upon the UK becoming a world leader in CO2 management. Policy and economics experts will be investigating the regulatory and commercial environment in which CCS must compete whilst the Alliance partners will be engaging with the wider public to widen awareness of CCS and the role it can play in tackling climate change.

Scottish Power, part of the Iberdrola group, represents one of the world's largest energy companies which includes Europe's 3rd largest coal fired power station at Longannet in Fife.

Over the next 5 years Imperial will be recruiting students and staff to tackle many aspects of the CCS value-chain, drawing upon expertise from across the College in Departments such as Chemical Engineering, Earth Sciences and Engineering and the Centre for Environmental Policy, working together under the banner of the Energy Futures Lab. Opportunities to work with the Alliance will be posted via the Energy Futures Lab website along with events scheduled to promote and broadcast the outcomes of the work.