The objective of the EU SiteChar Project was to facilitate the implementation of CO2 geological storage in Europe by developing a methodology for the assessment of potential storage sites and the preparation of storage permit applications. Research was conducted through a strong collaboration of experienced industrial and academic research partners aiming to advance a portfolio of sites to a (near-) completed feasibility stage, ready for detailed front-end engineering and design and produce practical guidelines for site characterisation. SiteChar was a 3 year project supported by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme. This report introduces the lay reader to the research and concepts developed in the SiteChar project and can be downloaded from http://www.sitechar-co2.eu/SciPublicationsData.aspx?IdPublication=351&IdType=557.

The data consists of a poster presented at 'The Fourth International Conference on Fault and Top Seals', Almeria, Spain, 20-24th September 2015. The abstract describes work carried-out on behalf of the 'Fault seal controls on CO2 storage capacity in aquifers' project funded by the UKCCS Research Centre, grant number UKCCSRC-C1-14. Shallow gas accumulations in the Netherlands sector of the Southern North Sea provide an opportunity to study their coincidence with faulting. Although difficult to attribute the occurrence of shallow gas to leakage of thermogenic fluids from depth (indeed shallow-sourced biogenic gas is common in the North Sea), evidence suggests a relationship, and the common attributes of the faults provide indications of the conditions under which faults in the region may leak, providing a useful indications of factors that should be avoided during CO2 storage operations.

Full proposal cover sheet for scientific drilling (852-CPP) 'GlaciStore: Understanding Late Cenozoic glaciation and basin processes for the development of secure large-scale offshore CO2 storage (North Sea)', submitted to Integrated Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) April 2014. The full proposal cover sheet document is publicly available from IODP; the submitted full proposal document is restricted to the proponents for publication and for review and response from IODP. The lead submitter, on behalf to the GlaciStore consortium is Heather Stewart, British Geological Survey (BGS).The 30 proponents are from research and industry organisations in the UK, Norway and USA (BGS, Institute for Energy Technology, Lundin Norway AS, SINTEF Energy Research, Statoil ASA, University of Bergen, University of Edinburgh, University of Oslo and University of Texas at Austin). The full proposal cover sheet states the names of proponents of the ‘GlaciStore’ consortium and contact details for the lead submitter of the bid. The full proposal cover sheet comprises: an abstract of the submitted full proposal including description of project funding support as a Complementary Project Proposal: describes and states the scientific research objectives; summarises proposed non-standard measurements; tabulates details of the 13 proposed drill sites (revised from pre-proposal stage) to address the scientific objectives. The objectives are to investigate: glacial history and sedimentary architecture; fluid flow and microbial processes in shallow sediments; and the stress history and geomechanical models for strata that have experienced multiple glacial and interglacial cycles. The table of proposed drilling sites includes the co-ordinates of the position and water depth at each proposed site, the objective for drilling and sampling and the depth to achieve the objective. The proponents, their affiliation, expertise and role for the submission are listed. UKCCSRC Grant UKCCSRC-C1-30.

This poster on the UKCCSRC Call 1 project, Fault seal controls on storage capacity, was presented at the Cranfield Biannual, 21.04.15. Grant number: UKCCSRC-C1-14.

The data consists of an extended abstract submitted to 'The Fourth International Conference on Fault and Top Seals', Almeria, Spain, 20-24th September 2015. The abstract describes work carried-out on behalf of the 'Fault seal controls on CO2 storage capacity in aquifers' project funded by the UKCCS Research Centre, grant number UKCCSRC-C1-14. The CO2-rich St. Johns Dome reservoir in Arizona provides a useful analogue for leaking CO2 storage sites, and the abstract describes an analysis of the fault-seal behaviour at the site. http://earthdoc.eage.org/publication/publicationdetails/?publication=82673.

Posters and presentations from the UKCCSRC Call 1 Project: Mixed matrix membranes for post combustion carbon capture (Mar 2013 to Dec 2015). Membrane processes are a promising alternative to the more classical post-combustion capture technologies due to the reduced maintenance of the process, the absence of dangerous solvents and their smaller footprint. This project aims at supporting the development of new mixed matrix membranes for post-combustion applications. Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) are composite materials formed by embedding inorganic fillers into a polymeric matrix in order to overcome the upper bound and combine the characteristics of the two solid phases: mechanical properties, economical processing capabilities and permeability of the polymer and selectivity of the filler. Despite several studies on the concept, the interactions between the two phases and their effect on the transport properties are not well understood. Yet, this fundamental knowledge is crucial in order to design the reliable materials needed for real-world-applications.

Technical report, component of ‘Progressing Scotland’s CO2 storage opportunities’ 2010. Carbon Capture, Transport and Storage is a very active field of research, especially for the past decade. From the UK perspective, a commercially crucial aspect is the saline aquifer research, since there are predicted to be vast storage capacities in the sedimentary formations of the North Sea. The report reviews the ongoing work on practical injections of CO2 as research tests for storage projects and specifically focuses on industrial sized saline aquifer injections. Available for download at http://hdl.handle.net/1842/15681.

The RISCS guide summarises the conclusions and recommendations developed by the RISCS Consortium, based on four years of research into the potential impacts of leakage from CO2 storage sites. The report has been developed in parallel with the experimental research, field-based investigations, modelling studies and analysis undertaken during the RISCS project. The Report can be downloaded from http://www.riscs-co2.eu/UserFiles/file/RISCS_Guide/RISCS_Guide.pdf.

UKGEOS and Core Sample Analysis. Geomechanical testing was performed to determine triaxial compressional strength, tensile strength, frictional strength and permeability of sandstones, siltstones, mudstones and coals from eleven depth intervals within the GGC01 borehole, UK Geoenergy Observatories (UKGEOS), Glasgow, United Kingdom. Frictional strength tests were also performed on cuttings samples of sandstones, siltstones, mudstones and coals from the GGA08 borehole, Glasgow, United Kingdom. In total twenty-three tensile strength tests were performed on ten sampled intervals, and seven porosity measurements pre-and post-failure were taken. Nine triaxial compressive strength tests and twenty-one frictional strength tests were performed, with permeability measured both before and after failure or shear respectively. From compressive strength tests we also determined the Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio. Results of X-Ray Diffraction are also included in the dataset.

This is THE first CO2 storage publication produced in the UK. The Association of the Coal Producers of the European Community are agreed that immediate action is required to reduce the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Harrison, 1990). This is considered necessary even though the effect of these gases on global climate and the human race, are very uncertain mainly because the factors and processes affecting climatic change are poorly understood. http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/511485/