The amount invested totals 120 MNOK, or 15 MNOK each year over an eight year period. Christian Michelsen Research (CMR) is project leader of the centre with the optimistic name ”SUCCESS": Subsurface CO₂ storage – Critical Elements and Superior Strategy. The other partners include Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Unifob, University of Bergen, University of Oslo and University Centre of Svalbard.

Tough competition
- I have to say I’m pleased, says Harald Johansen, Department Head of Environmental Technology at IFE, although the centre only got half of the funding they originally applied for.

- This is not just an allocation of money. Moreover it’s a quality contest, and a very tough one as such. The fact that we succeeded in this is a victory in itself, Johansen adds.
 
Two centres on CO₂
Of the eight new research centres, two are concentrating on CO₂ management. Johansen explains the difference between SINTEF’s concept BIGCCS Centre and SUCCESS. SINTEF’s centre will study the whole value chain, from capture, transportation and storage, while SUCCESS exclusively will focus on storage, and is more chemically and geologically oriented.

- The two centres are in many ways complementary. The fact that both have been given funding is evidence that the Research Council of Norway considers both are needed, says Johansen, and emphasises that the two centres will coordinate their activities between them.

What does this mean for IFE?
- IFE is among the largest partners in the centre, and will therefore have an excellent opportunity to expose its competence in the field of CO₂ storage, a field expected to have a strong growth. The project will give us an outstanding opportunity for long term development within this specialised field, says Johansen.

The SUCCESS consortium has significant competence in fundamental subject fields such as structural geology, sedimentology, reservoir characterisation, geo modelling, reservoir modelling, experimental fluid flow, mineral reactions, geochemistry, materials chemistry, geo mechanics, petrophysics and marine ecology. At IFE this means more tasks for the departments Environmental Technology, Reservoir and Exploration Technology and Materials and Corrosion Technology.

Read more about the Centres for Environment-friendly Energy Research (CEERs) at www.forskningsradet.no