Norwegian petroleum and energy minister Ola Borten Moe and Statoil chief executive Helge Lund at the official opening of the Mongstad technology centre on 7 May. (Photo: Helge Hansen)

The Mongstad technology centre (TCM) is unique in a global context with its capacity to capture up to 100,000 tonnes of carbon annually from two different exhaust gas streams using two different capturing technologies.

Statoil chief executive Helge Lund.

(Photo: Helge Hansen)

The aim of TCM is to develop and test different technologies for extracting the carbon dioxide from the exhaust gas emanating from the combined heating and power plant and from the refinery’s emission gases. The experience gained in testing technology at TCM will also have an international impact.

“Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can play an important role in solving the global challenge posed by increasing energy demand while at the same time reducing carbon emissions. Together with our partners we are proud, as project developer for TCM, to have established a test centre that will further mature CCS technology,” said Statoil CEO Helge Lund.

Lund was present at the official opening of TCM together with Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg, Norwegian petroleum and energy minister Ola Borten Moe, International Energy Agency head Maria van der Hoeven, and EU energy commissioner Günther Oettinger.

“TCM is a specific example of Norway’s commitment to combatting climate change. The experience we gather here will be of particular importance in developing technology that reduces carbon emissions,” said petroleum and energy minister Ola Borten Moe. 

The Norwegian government and Statoil signed an agreement in 2006 to build an industrial scale test plant for carbon capture at Mongstad. Plant construction commenced in the summer of 2009. TCM is owned by Gassnova on behalf of the Norwegian state, and by Statoil, Shell and Sasol.

TCM has been a demanding pioneering project. The plant is the first of its kind and is able to test, in parallel, two different carbon capture technologies from two carbon emission sources. The two technologies to be tested are the amino-based technology delivered by Aker Clean Carbon and Alstom’s chilled ammonia technology. The experience gained at TCM will help refine the technology that can best reduce carbon emissions.

The new carbon dioxide test centre TCM (in background) was officially opened on 7 May. Present were Norwegian petroleum and energy minister Ola Borten Moe, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Maria van der Hoeven, head of the Global CCS Institute Brad Page, and Statoil CEO Helge Lund. The opening ceremony was introduced by Sarah Montague from the BBC. (Photo: Helge Hansen)