Final report from the ACT!ON project
/The ACT!ON project has developed an integrated, multi-temporal modelling framework to support the planning, design and operation of large-scale CCUS networks. The framework connects CO₂ sources with transport systems, geological storage and utilisation options, while accounting for changes over time from short-term operational variations to long-term network development.
Key results from the project include:
Fast proxy models were developed for saline aquifers and depleted gas reservoirs, enabling rapid assessment of storage performance, injectivity, well integrity, fault reactivation and pressure and temperature behaviour. Machine-learning approaches significantly reduced calculation times compared with full-physics reservoir simulations.
New modelling and optimisation tools were developed for integrated CO₂ transport networks, covering pipelines as well as ship, rail and road transport. The tools allow networks to evolve over time and consider uncertainties in CO₂ supply and storage capacity.
A Multi-Agent System was developed to represent the different commercial and operational actors in a CCUS network. Applied to the Net Zero Teesside cluster, optimisation of transport operations reduced annual energy consumption by 7.9–8.4% compared with the most efficient fixed-pressure baseline.
The project developed methods for dynamic risk assessment across integrated CCUS systems, combining machine-learning proxy models with uncertainty analysis for storage capacity, injectivity, well integrity and other network risks.
Detailed techno-economic and emissions models were developed for hard-to-abate industries including steel, cement and refining, alongside assessment methods for CO₂ utilisation, life-cycle impacts and regulatory and economic conditions.
The modelling framework was applied to industrial and regional CCUS systems in the Netherlands, UK, France, Romania, Western Canada and the United States.
The regional studies highlighted the benefits of strategic, integrated infrastructure planning. In Western Canada, for example, integrated CO₂ transport and storage networks consistently resulted in lower total costs and less pipeline infrastructure than individual project-by-project development.
Overall, ACT!ON demonstrates how integrated modelling of capture, transport, utilisation and storage can support better investment and operational decisions for large-scale CCUS deployment, while accounting for cost, risk, environmental impacts and changing infrastructure needs over time.
You can download the final report from the ACT!ON project to read more about the results and findings.
