On April 8, the Provincial Government announced details of the first project approved under its $6-million Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Innovation Challenge aimed at studying and maximizing the carbon storage potential of the province's offshore.
The Honourable Andrew Parsons, KC, Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology, announced that the Provincial Government will invest $3 million as part of Stream 2 funding for a joint proposal from Memorial University and the Hibernia and Hebron Projects.
This project focuses on building Memorial University's capacity and capability in geological carbon storage within the province. The project will enhance laboratory facilities, increase competencies in laboratory methods and develop outreach capabilities through external engagement and collaboration with industry subject matter experts. This collaboration is expected to enable world-class research capabilities in this field.
The two-year project, titled Enabling CO2 Subsurface Storage Evaluation Capacity and Capabilities, will support foundational laboratory and research capabilities for Memorial University to assess CO2 subsurface storage valuation capacity and capabilities. Currently, there is no post-secondary institution in the province able to conduct such research. The project will assist with the development of highly qualified personnel in the emerging technologies and skills associated with carbon capture and storage.
Funding for the project will be provided by the Innovation and Business Investment Corporation ($1.55 million) and the Department of Environment and Climate Change ($1.45 million). The challenge requires applications to be submitted jointly by one lead industry and one lead academic partner.
In addition to Provincial Government funding, Memorial University will leverage an additional $6,786,614 in funding from the Hibernia and Hebron projects with project delivery support from Energy Research and Innovation Newfoundland and Labrador.
Benefits of this project include:
- Increased laboratory facilities to evaluate and characterize CO2 subsurface storage by purchasing equipment and establishing new lab facilities in the Bruneau Centre for Research and Innovation at Memorial University to enable CCUS-specific experimentation, as well as support the analysis of data to further characterize the potential storage capacity of the province's offshore.
- Increased capacity and capabilities in laboratory methods through exchange of information, training, and laboratory best practices between academic and industry subject matter experts, which will significantly increase Memorial University's capacity for CCUS research.
- Achieving world-class scCO2 SCAL (super critical CO2, specialized core analysis laboratory) standards by working with global industry subject matter experts.
Project Team members include Dr. Lesley James and Dr. Syed Imtiaz from the Department of Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University.
Offshore CCUS can potentially play a key role in helping Newfoundland and Labrador achieve its greenhouse gas reduction targets. The province's offshore storage capacity could also help other jurisdictions to meet their own emissions reduction targets.
Quotes
"This investment is helping our province pave the way for an entirely new industry that can have global impact while creating new opportunities for our highly skilled offshore workforce and businesses. The establishment of this new and world-class laboratory at Memorial University will help ensure the future researchers and leaders in CCUS are trained right here, and I thank the Hibernia and Hebron Projects for their significant contributions that will help to make this possible."
Honourable Andrew Parsons, KC, Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology
"Congratulations to Memorial University and ExxonMobil for being the first project funded under the CCUS Innovation Challenge. CCUS is essential to mitigating climate change and achieving our net zero goals. This impactful initiative will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote clean innovation and growth, and support the transition to a green economy."
Honourable Lisa Dempster, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
"I am grateful to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Hibernia and Hebron projects and Memorial University for the opportunity to work on a complex challenge for a globally cleaner future. Energy is neither created nor destroyed; as a teacher and researcher, my energy helps educate the next generation who, in turn, will help create a new energy industry right here and around the world."
Dr. Lesley James, Memorial University
"Congratulations to all for being able to build exciting opportunities. When government, industry and academia work collaboratively to find innovative solutions to global issues, everyone wins. As a leader in energy-related research, Memorial University is excited to expand our capacity and achieve bold, new discoveries. Thank you to our government and industry partners for continuing to support our experts and their leading-edge research."
Dr. Tana Allen, Vice-President (Research), Memorial University
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For more information
Prince Phillip Drive
St. John's Newfoundland
Canada A1B 4J6
www.gov.nl.ca
