The Nottingham Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage

The Nottingham Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage (NCCCS) is a pioneering joint venture that brings together the combined expertise of the British Geological Survey’s CO₂ storage centre of excellence and the University of Nottingham’s CCS group. Both institutions have a strong commitment to CCS, which is reflected in their investment into NCCCS. The Centre addresses an acknowledged need for cross disciplinary research by bringing together a critical mass of expertise comprising not only of geologists and engineers but also chemists, geochemists, bio-scientists, materials scientists, social scientists, mathematicians and geographers. By working together, scientists have been able to access additional equipment and they have been able to share ideas, which have created an organic growth of new research areas and innovative project areas.

The research profile of the centre is diverse and continually changing. The research portfolio covers everything from mature processes to very innovative ideas such as CO₂ utilisation through photo-reduction. NCCCS utilises state of the art equipment which enables us to consider substantial CCS questions such as storage capacity, CO₂ movement in reservoirs, how to monitor the CO₂ and how to accelerate permanent storage of CO₂ in minerals.

Research is a high priority for the Centre and is vital in order to ensure that the right decisions are made about deployment of CCS. However, it is not the Centre’s only aim. NCCCS recognises the urgent need for development and training in order to furnish employees with skills in CCS. The Centre has experience in providing Continuing Professional Development Courses in the UK and China (Shanghai Expo). NCCCS is now providing new courses which are being developed and delivered with our partner, CCS TLM. The courses are taught by experts at NCCCS and CCS TLM and cover aspects of climate change, capture, pipeline engineering, and CO₂ transport and storage.

Furthermore, the Centre engages in and provides many outreach activities. All members of NCCCS attend and present at large international conferences, international expert missions and workshops. NCCCS also organise technical, networking and conference events. Latest events can be found their website.

The Centre launched in October 2010 with a conference and a short course in CCS, which was held at the Shanghai Expo, and has since worked to become a key player in the CCS field. The Centre will continue to strive to make important advances in CCS and you can find out more about the progress at the NCCCS website.