ADEME funds carbon sequestration

The French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) is to part fund the €54m (£46m) France Nord carbon-sequestration project.

The project will see a consortium of European manufacturers and research organisations work together to examine the feasibility of installing a carbon-dioxide transportation and storage demonstration facility in a sedimentary basin in the north-central part of France.

Detailed technical studies will be conducted to select a suitable geological site for storing the carbon dioxide in deep saline aquifers and to identify the appropriate infrastructure necessary to transport the carbon dioxide from industrial facilities to the storage facility.

After two years of study, the partners, in co-operation with public authorities and local residents, expect to be able to recommend a site for the demonstration facility.

The France Nord project will be 40 per cent financed by ADEME from the research-demonstrator fund set up as part of France’s Grenelle environmental process and 60 per cent by the other consortium partners.

The consortium comprises six of France’s biggest manufacturers (Air Liquide, EDF, GDF Suez, Lafarge, Total and Vallourec), three French research organisations (BRGM, IFP and INERIS) and two German research organisations (EIFER in Karlsruhe and Geoforschungszentrum in Potsdam).