The PCOR Partnership—funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) through its Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Initiative, the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC), and partner organizations—is accelerating the commercial deployment of CCUS. The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) leads the PCOR Partnership, with support from the University of Wyoming and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The goal of this joint government–industry effort is to identify and address regional capture, transport, use, and storage challenges facing commercial deployment of CCUS.
Program Objectives
The PCOR Partnership is addressing regional capture, transport, use, and storage challenges facing commercial CCUS deployment by focusing on:
Strengthening
the technical foundation for geologic CO2 storage and enhanced oil recovery.
Improving
application of monitoring technologies.
Promoting
integration between capture, transportation, use, and storage industries.
Providing
scientific support to regulators and policy makers.
Advancing
capture technologies.
Facilitating
regulatory frameworks.
Activities
- Regional Characterization
- Permitting
- Site Characterization
- Infrastructure Development
- Operational Monitoring
- Public Outreach
Regional Characterization
The PCOR Partnership has identified and continues to refine the characterization of CO2 sources, geologic storage targets, and existing infrastructure within the region.
Permitting
The PCOR Partnership stays abreast of federal legislative actions occurring in the United States and Canada and follows the developments of various state, provincial, and regional initiatives to ensure partners are informed about any current or pending permitting issues.
Site Characterization and Modeling
Using sophisticated analytical, computer modeling, and simulation techniques, the PCOR Partnership is determining the suitability of potential storage sites and the long-term fate of the injected CO2 in storage formations.
Infrastructure Development
The PCOR Partnership provides technical and strategic support for the infrastructure planning needed to deploy CCUS on a wide-scale regional basis
Operational Monitoring and Modeling
Monitoring data can be used to 1) assure that CO2 injection operations do not adversely impact human health or the environment and 2) account for the storage of injected CO2 and verify that it stays in the subsurface.
Public Outreach and Education
Raising awareness for CO2 storage opportunities and real-world demonstrations in the region is accomplished through maintaining a public website, conducting public presentations, producing documentaries, and disseminating outreach materials.