Scottish Carbon Capture & Storage Receives £150k

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC), Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise have each committed £50,000 to support the UK’s largest research, industry and government partnership in carbon capture, use and storage.

Established with SFC funding in 2005, Scottish Carbon Capture & Storage (SCCS) is a research and knowledge exchange partnership between Heriot-Watt University, the University of Aberdeen, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde, and the British Geological Survey. SCCS also works to develop research and teaching, with engagement at St Andrews, Glasgow, Robert Gordon and other universities across Scotland.

SCCS assisted in bringing Scottish experts to the EU funded ACT Acorn Project. Led by energy consultants Pale Blue Dot Energy, the Acorn project is working to develop the UK’s first operational carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at the St Fergus Gas Terminal in Aberdeenshire. The project has received funding from the Scottish Government, UK Government, and the European Union.

The project will see existing terminal infrastructure re-purposed to capture around 200,000 tonnes of CO2 per year initially, which will then be transported for storage in depleted North Sea gas fields, using re-conditioned existing pipelines.

Scientists from Heriot-Watt University, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Aberdeen worked with other experts in the UK, the Netherlands and Norway to model CO2 storage characteristics, while Robert Gordon University researched public perception around the project and the role of CCUS. SCCS has also advocated for the role of CCUS as a recognised technology in the decarbonisation of Scotland’s energy system within the Scottish Government’s work to establish a Just Transition Commission.

"We are thrilled to receive this funding, enabling us to continue our crucial work," said Professor Stuart Haszeldine, SCCS Director. "Our goal is to realise the potential of carbon capture and storage in decarbonising the UK’s high-emitting sectors rapidly, at least cost, and enabling a just transition for skilled professionals and workers in the oil and gas sector as Scotland moves towards a zero carbon economy."