Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage

2006年《斯特恩报告》和最近的2007年政府间气候变化专门委员会(气专委)报告都得出结论，有压倒性证据表明气候变化是一个严重而紧迫的问题。这两份报告的结论都是，及早采取行动对于稳定导致全球变暖的温室气体至关重要。二氧化碳(CO2)占所有温室气体排放的84%，因此在考虑首先针对哪种气体时，它是显而易见的选择。这个问题的解决方案非常具有挑战性，因为我们需要确保我们保护地球，继续享受高生活水平，而不会破坏我们的经济，也不可能导致能源饥荒。一种可能性是在二氧化碳产生时将其捕获，并通过将其储存在地下来防止其进入大气。虽然已经有一些大规模的二氧化碳储存项目(如北海的斯莱普纳和加拿大和美国之间的韦伯恩)，但它们主要是由于石油和天然气的开采，因此具有高度的场地特殊性。它们没有解决更广泛的问题，即从化石燃料发电厂捕获和存储二氧化碳/英国和世界各地人为二氧化碳排放的最大贡献者。广泛部署捕获和存储技术的主要和最有争议的技术障碍是完整性，因为政策、监管和公众对CCS的接受度将要求存储地点成为永久性的安全储存库，而不会发生泄漏。科学与工程之间的研究和国际合作将加快确保储存点完整性所需的技术创新，并导致碳捕获和封存的广泛部署。这项建议的重点是建立一个捕获和储存创新中心，该中心将促进跨学科活动，从基础科学中带来突破性的想法，并将其开发成新的产品、工艺和服务，并考虑公众接受问题。在该中心内，我们将培训具有广泛和跨学科技能的科学家和工程师，这些技能适合他们未来在工业、研究或政府领域的职业生涯。这些科学家和工程师进行的研究将受到一系列倡议的确定和启发，这些倡议将为中心带来一系列的人，包括来自工业界、不同研究领域的人、环保主义者和政策制定者。然后，将促进这项研究的结果以及对碳捕获和封存问题的普遍认识的提高。总而言之，该中心的总体目标将是发展碳捕获和封存的整体观点，目的是在寻找气候变化解决办法和保护地球方面产生重大影响。

The 2006 Stern Review and the very recent 2007 Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report have both concluded that there is overwhelming evidence showing that climate change is a serious and urgent issue. Both reports conclude that early action is vital to stabilize greenhouse gases that are responsible for global warming. Carbon dioxide (CO2) accounts for 84% of all greenhouse gases emissions so makes it the obvious choice when considering which gas to target first.The solution to this problem is very challenging, as we need to make sure that we protect the planet and continue to enjoy a high standard of living without ruining our economy and potentially leading to an energy famine. One possibility is to capture carbon dioxide as it is produced and prevent it from reaching the atmosphere by storing it underground. This idea is the subject of this proposal.Although there are already some large scale CO2 storage projects (e.g. Sleipner in the North Sea and Weyburn between Canada and USA) they are principally due to the extraction of oil and gas and are, therefore, highly site specific. They do not address the broader issue of capturing and storing CO2 from fossil fuelled power plants / the largest contributors of anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the UK and worldwide.The major and most contentious technological barrier for the wide deployment of capture and storage technologies is integrity, as policy, regulatory and public acceptability of CCS will demand storage sites to be permanent safe repositories without leaks. Research at the interface between science and engineering and international cooperation will accelerate the technological innovation needed for ensuring the integrity of storage sites and lead to a widespread deployment of carbon capture and storage. This proposal focuses on developing a Centre for Innovation in Capture and Storage that will promote interdisciplinary activity to bring groundbreaking ideas from basic science and develop them into new products, processes and services, as well as consider public acceptability issues. Within the Centre we will train scientists and engineers with a broad and interdisciplinary set of skills suitable for their future careers in industry, research or government. The research undertaken by these scientists and engineers will be identified and inspired by a range of initiatives that will bring to the Centre a range of people including those from industry, different research areas, environmentalists and policy makers. The outcome of this research, and general awareness raising of issues around carbon capture and storage, will then be promoted. In summary, the overall aim of the Centre will be to develop a holistic view to the development of carbon capture and storage with the aim of making a significant impact in finding solutions for climate change and protecting the planet.