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Cathing CO2 at Tiller near Trondheim. Photo: SINTEF/Thor Nielsen |
While world-class athletes gathered in China, Norwegian industry and the scientific community were launching a major R & D programme that aimed to lower the cost of carbon capture and storage (CCS).
One facet of the NOK 300 million (almost €40 million) programme was the construction of an extraordinary 11-storey building at Tiller, just outside Trondheim. The building was inaugurated in 2010, and it is used to capture CO2 under near-industrial conditions.
Chemical scrubbing
In this unusual laboratory building, SINTEF and NTNU are studying the chemical scrubbing of CO2 from flue gases. This is the best-developed principle for capturing CO2 to date, and will therefore be used in the first generation of full-scale installations for capturing CO2 from coal- and gas-fired generating stations and process industry.
Focus on cost and the environment
The SINTEF research facility will reduce the cost of scrubbing and develop solutions that will eliminate emissions of chemicals to the environment.
The imposing height of the building will allow CO2 capture to be studied under near-industrial conditions.
International collaboration
The research facility has been built as part of the SOLVit project, an eight-year long collaborative effort that involves Aker Clean Carbon, Gassnova SF, SINTEF and NTNU.
The international energy companies E.ON, Scottish Power and Statkraft are other participants.
