Several members of the H2-CO2 group led by Patrick Portolano (Eosys) met remotely on Thursday 23/2 at 6 p.m. with presentations / discussions around the following topics:

– review of the Hyvolution show and fundamentals of the H2 market and infrastructure: it appears that although many announcements are made and many R&D projects are launched, commercial demand linked to a hydrogen market seems to be confined to clusters of heavy industries, such as refineries, fertilizer plants, smelters, cement factories etc. Tax incentives in the US also seem to be giving pulse to a greater number of smaller and more distributed blue H2 projects in their territory (thermal power plants, fertilizer plants, bioethanol production)

– short/long-term safety of oil and gas wells (Louis Heuzé): a discussion took place on the corrosion and long-term behavior of plugs and completions of old or new wells on CO2 sequestration sites. Is this risk currently underestimated by the promoters of geological CO2 sequestration? Can we imagine well cancelled procedures with zero risk of leakage for thousands, even tens or hundreds of thousands of years? If not, shouldn’t we rather favor CCS projects that allow:

• rapid CO2 mineralization or dissolution in the aquifer before there is a significant risk of well corrosion
• gravity migration of pockets of CO2 away from old or new wells (reminder, when it remains confined to a depth of more than 800m, the CO2 injected behaves within the aquifers like an emulsion and not like a gas pocket)

– CCS market (Yves Friedmann)

• discussions on the market for European CO2 emission quotas (ETS-EU): the market has taken off after a long stagnation and the price has been constantly increasing since 2020 (approximately €100/tonne CO2 in February 2023) which brings the CCS in the profitability zone for the ‘dirtiest’ industries: the discussion focused on the solidity and the prospects for the evolution of the market without reaching a consensus; to be continued…
• inventory and orientations of the CCS in France: findings that 1. the mapping of potential French geological sequestration sites is imprecise/incomplete, particularly at sea on the French Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, 2. the ‘national low-carbon strategy plan’ current (2020) favors the export of CO2 to the North Sea countries.
• CCS issues:

– Associated risks: meeting consensus around a low to very low security risk level for geological CO2 storage. Financial risks not discussed (except mention of the Dutch de-risk system). Risk of significant Community rejection to be addressed as a priority.

– Manufacturers operating in France will be at a disadvantage compared to other European manufacturers for lack of the possibility of sequestering carbon at low cost in our country

– Positioning of the H2-CO2 group: continuation of technical and economic monitoring and development, in particular in the North Sea (Portos project decision expected at the beginning of March, etc.) and in the USA, rapprochement with BRGM for collaborations (PP, J-L.G)

– Local CCS, small scale projects: CO2Dissolve CO2Serre BRGM (ongoing contacts with BRGM by Patrick)

– “turquoise” hydrogen (Jean-Pascal Biaggi, postponed to a future meeting)

– CCS by mineralization (Malika El Assili): see attached pdf