Press releases

CO2 capture and storage: The IFP-steered European Castor project is a tremendous success

30 June 2008

The European Castor project, aimed at developing technologies for the capture and storage of 10% of Europe’s CO₂ emissions, has just been completed. Castor is among the six successes of the FP6 (out of a total of 40 projects) selected by the European Commission. Moreover, Pierre Le Thiez, the current Executive Vice President of Geogreen, was rewarded by the US Department of Energy for his role as project coordinator.

Steered by IFP and bringing together 30 players from 11 European countries, Castor is based on an industrial demonstration unit, installed in Esbjerg, Denmark in 2006 on the Dong Energy power plant, to cut the cost of CO₂ capture by 30-50% (post-combustion capture). This unit is currently the largest in the world in terms of real combustion flue gases and has proven that 90% of CO₂ emissions from a coal-fired power plant can be captured, by using the appropriate solvents, at a cost of €40 per metric ton (compared to the capture cost estimated in 2004 at €60 per metric ton).

Castor was also an opportunity to refine our understanding of the behavior of CO₂ underground and to define several best practices for the performance, safety and environmental footprint of geological storage. Four European storage sites were investigated in more detail. The Coores software program developed by IFP to simulate the injection of CO₂ and the long-term stability of storage facilities was used to model several CO₂ storage scenarios for these reservoirs.

Since February 2008, IFP has been involved in a new European project as part of FP7, Cesar, devoted to post-combustion CO₂ capture, a natural follow-on from Castor. The trials of the demonstration unit built in Esbjerg will in particular be continued. The project has two goals: improve solvent performance and regenerability, and use better gas/liquid contactors, such as membrane contactors, to make the plants smaller.

Castor’s success attests to IFP’s ability to coordinate international projects and to bring together cross-cutting teams, and confirms its pivotal position in the field of CO₂ storage and capture.
 

IFP is a world-class public-sector research and training center, aimed at developing the technologies and materials of the future in the fields of energy, transport and the environment. It provides public players and industry with innovative solutions for a smooth transition to the energies and materials of tomorrow – more efficient, more economical, cleaner and sustainable.