US funding research into seismic impact on carbon storage

The US Energy Department said May 28 it was backing four research projects meant to examine the risk that seismic events pose to carbon storage technology.

The $4mn in funding would support research into limiting the risk of potential leaks of CO₂ from underground storage facilities during natural seismic events.

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“Large scale carbon capture efforts are vital to getting America emissions-free by 2050, and how we store this CO₂ must be safe, secure and permanent,” energy secretary Jennifer Granholm said. “The R&D investments in new tools and technology to monitor underground activity near CO₂ storage sites will help us minimise risk from natural events like earthquakes, safeguard the environment and water supply, and get us that much closer to our clean energy goals.”

CO₂ from a variety of emitters can be stored in underground geological formations. Should a seismic event such as an earthquake occur near those sites, it would undermine the technology meant to avoid the emissions of the harmful greenhouse gas.

The research projects will look into ways to monitor the infrastructure itself or develop ways to determine the potential threat from seismic activity. The funding goes to the University of Houston, William Marsh Rice University, Battelle Memorial Institute and The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

Granholm’s announcement comes on the heels of at least two bipartisan measures proposed in the US congress that would provide tax credits for utilising CCS.

The private sector too is embracing the technology following support of the federal government. US food processer Archer-Daniels-Midland said May 19 it used federal funding to complete a project meant to test CCS technology near its corn processing plant in Illinois.

The agricultural giant said the project supports its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2035, based on a 2019 baseline.