Elegancy

August 2017
– August 2020

Accelerating the decarbonisation of the European energy system has been the main target of the energy sector for the last decades. With this purpose, the use of hydrogen as a low-carbon fuel has been introduced and its interest around the industry is growing exponentially.  On the other hand, CCS -carbon capture and storage- is the only technology that prevents CO2 from reaching the atmosphere by storing it in a safe underground formation. Yet, there were still many challenges about its implementation.  

The Elegancy project was launched by an international collaboration between GERG and other 21 research and industry partners with the aim of developing scientific and technical progress to face these challenges. Its aim was to broaden public awareness of CCS while creating a commercial model for the industry. 

Elegancy thus, fast-tracks the decarbonisation of Europe’s energy system by exploiting the synergies between these two key low-carbon technologies: CCS and hydrogen (H2).   

This project is part of the European Commission’s ACT – Accelerating CCS Technologies – programme and is led by the independent research organisation Sintef. GERG is a full member and is also part of the Executive Board. The total budget of the project is estimated in 15.6 M€.   

The research programme comprises six work packages:   

  • WP1: Hydrogen supply chain and hydrogen-carbon dioxide (H2-CO2) separation   
  • WP2: CO2 transportation, injection and storage   
  • WP3: Business case development for H2-CCS integrated chains   
  • WP4: H2-CCS chain tool and evaluation methodologies for integrated chains   
  • WP5: Five case studies, one per participating country  

-The Netherlands: decarbonizing industry by a comprehensive H2-CCUS value  chain. 

-Switzerland: decarbonizing road transport, accelerating its CCS/geothermal  roadmap. 

-The UK: switching large cities to a 100% H2 network. 

-Germany: accelerating the decarbonization of gas infrastructure via a H2-CCS  chain. 

-Norway: developing an optimal infrastructure investment scenario for H2  export and utilization.  

  • WP6: Project management, network building and dissemination   

This project has already been finished and has been a success. For consulting the reports and access more information, please visit the project website below. 

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