AboutGeosciences applied to mitigate climate change by injecting CO2 back underground

Every year, billions of tons of CO2 are released into the atmosphere, but the damage it causes is reversible. The project DISCO2 STORE, run by the consortium comprising 12 institutions in Europe and Latin America, unites the efforts of international academics, independent research organizations and private companies to develop safe underground CO2 storages.

Right now, there are 19 large-scale CO2 storage facilities operating around the world; 30 more are under construction. Only in Europe, they capture about 300 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, and there is much more geological potential for the development of new such reservoirs. Yet, these projects face considerable challenges: leaks and contaminations, landscape deformations and enhanced seismic activity in the areas where the injection takes place.

The DISCO2 STORE participants look for viable long-term solutions to these challenges, using the most recent experience of the oil and gas industry, top-notch engineering knowledge and pioneering scientific research. The expected findings will serve to secure existing and future CO2 storages but they will also contribute to the further development of technologies in geothermal energy, hydrogen and natural gas storage, and waste disposal.

The project’s main objectives are:

• To develop tools and techniques to identify mechanical discontinuities
• To characterize these discontinuities
• To assess the impact of mechanical discontinuities on CO2 injection scenarios