PNNL

Abstract

The CarbonSAFE Cascadia project is conducting a pre-feasibility study to evaluate technical and nontechnical aspects of collecting and storing 50 MMT of CO2 in a safe, ocean basalt reservoir offshore from Washington State and British Columbia. Sub-seafloor basalts are very common on Earth and enable CO2 mineralization as a long-term storage mechanism, permanently sequestering the carbon in solid rock form. Our project goals include evaluation of this reservoir as an industrial-scale CO2 storage complex, developing potential source/transport scenarios, and conducting laboratory and modeling studies to evaluate the potential capacity of the reservoir, and completing an evaluation of economic, regulatory and project management risks. Potential scenarios include sources and transport options in USA and in Canada. The overall project network consists of a coordination team of researchers from collaborating academic institutions, subcontractors, and external participants. Lessons learned from this study at the Cascadia Basin location may be transferrable elsewhere around the globe.