International partnership aims to fast track carbon dioxide networks

An international team has set out to accelerate the development of regional networks to transport, use and store carbon dioxide captured from industry.

The ACTiON project, which brings together researchers and industrial partners from seven countries, will investigate how an efficient infrastructure connecting CO₂ sources with geological storage and non-geological utilisation options can be established.

The three-year project will develop an advanced integrated assessment model that will respect complex engineering, economic and regulatory constraints and account for different time scales, from hourly network operation to long-term decarbonisation goals.

This innovative model, the first of its kind, will allow stakeholders to design and plan large-scale CO₂ networks, operate them safely and efficiently, and report on decarbonisation efforts.

The €5.4 million project received funding through the ERA-NET ACT fund, an international initiative to facilitate RD&D and innovation within CO₂ capture, transport, utilisation and storage (CCUS), and from industrial partners.

“ACTiON will enable governments and network developers to make timely and robust investment decisions and give network operators the tools they need to run these networks efficiently,” said Professor Anna Korre, Co-Director of Imperial College London’s Energy Futures Lab and ACTiON coordinator.

“Ultimately, ACTiON will help accelerate the decarbonisation of industry, one of the single largest emitters of greenhouse gasses, by minimising the risks and costs associated with moving and storing or utilising captured CO₂.”

ACTiON’s multitemporal modelling capabilities will be applied to a number of case studies in the EU, US and Canada, covering different approaches to CCUS network development and including both pipeline and ship transport.