Russian Bellona Project: Technology to Capture and Store Carbon Dioxide

The technology known as the Bellona Project has the backing of all the European businesses, researchers and organizations that comprise The European Union’s Technology Platform on Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants (ZEP). It works by creating a concentrated flow of high-pressure CO2, which pipelines can easily transmit to storage sites at carbon dioxide sources. The CO2 can then be pumped into empty oil wells and coal beds.

Currently, the Russian government has not introduced regulations pertaining to the introduction of this new technology known as carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS). ZEP’s plan of action involves capturing greenhouse gas CO2 from large emission sources like natural gas plants and refineries and transporting them to secure storage sites beneath the ground or even below the floor of the sea. By stating their plans publicly, ZEP has laid the foundation for acknowledgement of the fact that there is enormous untapped potential for Bellona’s position that CO2 emissions can be slashed by half by the year 2050, if enough of an emphasis is put upon the capture and storage of CO2.

According to Bellona’s Dr. Aage Stangeland who conducted an important study on this matter and whose figures were presented in The International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control:

“The study shows that that CO2 emissions in the EU can be reduced by 54 percent, and by 33 percent on a world-wide basis if world society makes use of CCS on an industrial scale. This is a good acknowledgment for Bellona that the ZEP platform now points to our figures, but more important is that so many important stakeholders are now making it clear that CO2 capture and storage must be one of the most central climate efforts.”

Although there is much opposition and argument that Bellona can only be a stopgap measure, it looks like it will soon be a reality.

The world has little to lose and much more to gain from the success of the Bellona Project.