Norway tests CCS

The Norwegian government has finally opened its carbon capture and storage (CCS) test facility at Mongstad. The facility, which has been plagued by delays and over-spends, has cost NOK5.8 billion (£610 million) and contains two capture plants to scrub CO2 from a nearby oil refinery and a gas power plant. However, the test facility will only investigate the capture portion of CCS and all the CO2 will then be later released into the atmosphere.

Post-combustion CCS is well understood, and so the centre will focus on testing the performance issues and costs relating to the scale up to an industrial scale. Originally, this was due to be followed by full scale capture towards the end of 2014, however with the delays in starting the test site and further issues relating to investment, the start date has been delayed until 2018 at the earliest.