Preparation of follow-up stages for ENOS pilot sites
Paving the way for further development of the sites
Context
Real-life experimental sites, even if of different scale, all require high up-front investment. The value obtained for such investment should be maximised in time by ensuring that the sites will continue to operate and provide benefit to the scientific community and other CCS stakeholders after ENOS. To support the continuation of activities at the sites and maximize the value of their contribution to the development of onshore CO2 storage in Europe, ENOS will prepare internally reviewed plans for further development of the sites and their utilization.
Activity
An action plan for continuation of storage pilot projects and injection test sites in the ENOS portfolio will be prepared. For sites that achieve more advanced stages of development during the project (Hontomín, Sotacarbo Fault injection, GeoEnergy Test Bed), plans will be prepared to increase the value of the sites and the knowledge gained. Challenges, remaining after ENOS, will be identified and a set of recommendations will be established for future activities. For example, it is intended to expand the scope of the GeoEnergy Test Bed site to act as a research hub to draw CO2 storage researchers and industrial stakeholders together as a component of ECCSEL. Future planning to expand the scope of the site to satisfy these stakeholders will need to build on the knowledge gained during ENOS with input from the project stakeholder workshops. University of Nottingham and BGS will host an ENOS scoping workshop and monitoring technology demonstration at the GeoEnergy Test Bed site inviting consortium members to explore future opportunities for expanding and enhancing the site and its capabilities as a collaborative research facility.
For projects in early stage of development (e.g., LBr-1), items such as preparatory work for the storage permit (including the definition of lacking pieces of information and data), drilling plans, CO2 delivery, injection strategy etc. will be included.
For the Sotacarbo Fault Laboratory , after the deliberate CO2 injection and drilling of the deeper characterisation well (with national funding), supported by ENOS, the injection test area and infrastructure (injection and monitoring wells) will constitute a permanent Field Experimental Lab, able to host researchers after the end of ENOS, to test and calibrate monitoring systems (geochemical and geophysical), to verify models and to plan new injection test experiments.
The site development plans will also be reviewed by partners not directly involved in site activities to ensure an independent view and that the European dimension, complementarity and research potential of the pilot sites development is taken into account.
Impact
The plans for further development of storage and injection test sites of the ENOS portfolio will be important for sustaining the impetus derived from ENOS. This will pave the way for further development of the sites and help the site owners to adjust their site-related plans according to the needs of the European and international CCS community.
