CCUS - Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage

Potential scenarios for CCUS application may derive from the ambitious objectives concerning the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions set by the European Green Deal. CCUS is an option to reduce CO₂ emissions from hard-to-abate sectors and to increase the sustainability of the energy transition in the short and medium term. However, the opportunities for the application of CCUS to specific industrial sectors are only partially explored. The development of specific technology concepts is still under consideration and specific safety issues may arise in the implementation of the CCUS value chain.

The activities carried out in this research area are aimed at:

• the analysis of the safety and sustainability of specific CCUS concepts, specifically addressing hard-to-abate and small scale industrial emissions
• the analysis and qualification of specific models for the onshore and offshore Quantitative Risk Assessment of the CCUS value chain
• the scale-up and the assessment of the safety and sustainability of technology concepts aiming at the production carbon-based energy vectors using integrated renewable energy sources
• the analysis and experimental characterization of valorization routes for solid residues from acid gas removal processes (geopolymerization, CO₂ mineralization, use in calcium looping processes), including the assessment of the related techno-economic feasibility and environmental footprint

Research and Industrial Projects on this topic address:

• Set-up of a streamlined procedure for the QRA of onshore and offshore CCS concepts
• Definition of the techno-economic framework for the decarbonization of the north-Adriatic region