CO2-geothermal: CCUS that generates and stores electricity efficiently while storing all CO2 permanently underground

Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and geologic storage (CCS) can be utilized to generate geothermal power highly efficiently and to provide grid-scale subsurface energy storage - if desired simultaneously. As a result, the CCS facility turns into a simultaneous CO2 capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) system. The base system is a so-called CO2-Plume Geothermal (CPG) power plant, where captured CO2 is circulated underground in saline formations or oil/gas reservoirs (e.g. during enhanced oil or gas recovery). In these reservoirs, the CO2 is geothermally heated, produced to the surface, expanded in a turbine to generate electricity, cooled, compressed, and then combined with any CO2 stream, from a CO2 emitter, before it is reinjected into the subsurface reservoir. The reinjection results in the continued growth of the subsurface CO2 plume and ensures that 100% of the subsurface-injected CO2 is eventually stored underground permanently. For subsurface (solar/wind) energy storage, the CPG CO2 cycle is separated into two operations (energy discharge and energy storage) by temporarily storing the CO2 in a shallow (~1 km deep) reservoir or in a gasometer during the energy discharge mode. For energy storage, the CO2 is released from the shallow reservoir or the gasometer and is reinjected into the deep (~2.5 km deep), and thus warm, “geothermal” reservoir. This type of subsurface (solar/wind) energy storage in the deep/warm reservoir is highly efficient and is massive (in the several GWh range). The subsurface-CO2-based energy storage system with a gasometer can be configured so that a heat sink (cold source) results, enabling district cooling. All of the above can in principle be combined with blue hydrogen facilities. 

Speakers

Professor Martin Saar

ETH Zürich