Carbon capture and storage: from the axis with the government in the UK to the Ravenna project, how Eni accelerates decarbonisation
The group led by Claudio Descalzi focuses on a distinctive model that relies on the availability of depleted gas fields, the reuse of existing infrastructure and the positioning of assets close to industrial clusters
6' min read
Key points
6' min read
In the background is the conviction that there is no single solution for the energy transition but that an integrated strategy composed of several recipes in synergy with each other is needed. And that, within this mosaic, as all the major international organisations (from the International Energy Agency to the United Nations) maintain, the CCS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage) process represents a fundamental building block for a solid and credible medium- and long-term decarbonisation, as well as an essential junction to significantly push forward the reduction of emissions in the 'hard-to-abate' sectors (from steel to cement), responsible in Italy for over 60% of industrial greenhouse gas emissions and 13% of the national total.
What is Ccus
But what is Cccus? It is a multi-step process. The first step is capture, in which carbon dioxide is separated from the other gases with which it is mixed, e.g. as a result of a combustion process. Once separated from the other gases, the CO2 is compressed to allow it to be transported, usually by pipeline but also by sea (ship) or land (road or rail transport). At this point, the carbon dioxide can be used for industrial purposes, such as in the production of cementitious material or biomass for the food industry, and we then speak of CCU (carbon capture and utilisation), or stored within specially selected underground geological formations, such as depleted hydrocarbon deposits or saline aquifers: in this case we speak of CCS (carbon capture and storage).
According to the Iea, this is a crucial building block for accelerating the energy transition: in the 'Net zero emissions' scenario, 7.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year will need to be captured by Ccus technologies in 2050. Hence Eni's decision to focus on this aspect by investing in research and innovation along the entire Ccus chain because research plays a fundamental role in the development of Ccus projects and aims to identify the most innovative technology for reducing costs and environmental impact.
The role of research
.Research, together with technology, is also very important for the storage phase. And, on this front, the group led by Claudio Descalzi, thanks in part to its vast experience in numerical modelling for the development of hydrocarbon reservoirs, has developed a significant workflow for the definition of CCS projects. Eni applies innovative numerical simulation algorithms to study the interactions between CO₂ and rock and simulate the best storage solutions over time in relation to the reservoir's geological, geomechanical and geochemical characteristics. In this way, the potential storage site is analysed in depth, exploiting, in the case of depleted gas fields, the data collected during the exploration and exploitation phase of the asset. This data is then integrated and used to calibrate the 3D model, thus enabling the clear representation of the entire storage complex.
These models are used to confirm the feasibility of safe and permanent storage of CO₂ in the subsurface because they allow different alternative scenarios to be simulated in order to define the optimal development scheme, including the effects of injecting CO₂ over long periods. This is also thanks to the combined efforts of an integrated team to define optimal solutions and the use of proprietary software as well as the computing power available at Eni's Green Data Centre.
