The expectations I had when I started were met. Being the manager of TCM was a great job.

Roy Vardheim was TCM’s managing director from March 2015 to August 2017. He then became director of the TCM department in Gassnova, and with it also the company’s chairman, until he became CEO of Gassnova in February 2021. Vardheim has broad management experience from several companies, including as CEO of Norske Skog Saugbrug and Borealis. He also has international senior management experience from Borouge in the Middle East and BIS in Scandinavia. Vardheim will retire during the coming year.

– How was your first meeting with TCM?

– I had never been to Mongstad before I arrived on Monday 2 March 2015. Then I felt the joy of coming back to work and getting to know many pleasant colleagues. As a weekly commuter I got myself a good place to live in Austrheim, and could spend long days at work. The field of work was completely new to me, and I naturally took some time to getting to understand the business. I was used to the role of top manager, but the slightly strange «shop» in the borderland between research and industry was new and exciting. The work also gave me insight into political processes and dialogue with authorities, which I later benefited from in my work in Gassnova.

– What will you highlight as the most rewarding and interesting work you took part in at TCM?

– This was a period when we had to be inventive and creative to maintain steady activity at the plant. Bjørn-Erik Haugan took office at TCM about the same time as me as head of business development, and the efforts in relation to the US Department of Energy (DoE) to secure financial assistance to US technology developers  were to prove very important for TCM. Among other things, it led to ION Clean Energy carrying out a test campaign in 2016 – 2017. The company was led by Buz Brown, a delightful guy who boasted freely of the facilities and expertise of TCM. We took advantage of that by producing a video that is constantly used in marketing on the website; tcmda.com.

– Then I also remember the joy we felt in 2017 at having succeeded in getting Total into TCM as a new owner. The company thus gained three equal industrial owners; Equinor, Shell and Total, which has certainly been a plus. The level of conflict between the owners had at times been quite high and thus demanding for us who managed the company, but in recent years this relationship has been characterized by far greater harmony and constructive cooperaton.

Name: Roy Vardheim

Age: 66

Education: MSc, Chemical Engineering, NTNU

Marital status: Gift

Afiliation with TCM: Managing Director from March 2015 – August 2017, seconded from Gassnova. Chairman at the Board, August 2017 – February 2021

Present position: CEO at Gassnova SF

– You left your job at TCM to become head of the TCM department and later CEO of Gassnova. What would you highlight as the three most important results from 10 years of operation at TCM for Gassnova?

– For Gassnova, the management of the state ownership in TCM is a main task. All in all, I think we have solved this in a good way. We have brought in a new industrial owner in addition to the two who were involved from the beginning, and have thus contributed to consolidating TCM’s status and position as a company were both the Norwegian state and the industry take responsibility for business and operations. Furhermore, we have succeeded in getting more and more external technology customers to use the facility. Finally, I would like to highlight the strategically important decision to establish a separate test area for new capture technologies, the Site for emerging technologies, which we now see attracting developers of exciting technologies, and which can be of great importamce for future CCS projects.

– When you generally look back on 10 years of business at TCM, what do people that worked at TCM or still are working there have particular reason to be most proud of?

– With the history of the establishment of the technology centre, it was not at all given that TCM would be a success. In Norway, the «moon landing at Mongstad» cast dark shadows over the business for a long time, and made it difficult to explain that testing of capture technologies is a prerequisite and tool for success with CCS. However, the staff at TCM were able relatively quickly to create positivity about the plant and their own expertise in professional circles internationallly. For foreign suppliers, testing at Mongstad has become a necessary «mark of nobility» in the marketing of their technologies, and gradually the reputation of TCM has also improved much here in our country. Most people now understand that the Longship project would hardly have seen the light of day in its current form if TCM had not existed. The current government has also been very clear that TCM was the right investment at the right time. Everyone who has been involved in the operation therefore has much to be proud of.

– What is your wish for TCM the next ten years?

– The current operation period for TCM ends in December next year, and in Gassnova we are now working intensively to create a common understanding between the industrial owners and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on the basis for a new agreement for operation the company. We definitely believe that there is a need for TCM in the coming years as well. But because this must partly be clarified and decided politically, neither I nor others in Gassnova can advance the content of a final decision. What I can say is that together with the management of TCM we are doing our best to supply the authorities and the other owners with all the information they request, and then we can only hope for a good result.

We believe that the coming year will be at least as developing and interesting, says Muhammad Ismail Shah, Managing Director of Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM).

He took over as manager in February and has led the company through a year characterized by high activity at the test facility, frequent participation in conferences and professional events, as well as celebration of TCM’s 10-year anniversary.

– In 2022, we have again been able to meet customers, partners and governmental officials face to face. It is important, both to explain what plans we have for development at TCM and to form an impression of what the industry in Norway and abroad is thinking and doing to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases. My overall impression is that both the ability and willingness to invest in CCS as an important part of the climate solution has increased considerably, while at the same time the desire and need for cost-effective technologies to make this happen is very great. At TCM, we will contribute to this by carrying out a number of campaigns for testing and verification of both mature and complete new technologies for capturing CO₂.

70 CCS-projects in Europe

This autumn, TCM has, among other things, participated in the CCS conference in Bremen, Germany. Here it emerged that 70 CCS projects are currently in process in Europe in various phases – more than twice as many as the previous year. The EU’s innovation fund is investing in eleven projects, and in the UK four projects, which are expected to capture and store 20 – 30 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, will receive 1 billion pund in support by 2030. In the US, the Biden administration has significantly expanded government support, where more than 12 billions of dollars are earmarked for various programs. Japan and China also provide extensive support to companies promoting CCS technology. In total, more than 20 countries worldwide now have CCS projects underway.

Longship shows the way

­– In Norway, construction of facilities at Heidelberg Materials’s cement factory in Brevik is underway. Aker Carbon Capture delivers capture technology which has been tested at TCM. Hafslund Oslo Celsio has started building its carbon capture plant in connection with the waste and heat recovery plant at Klemetsrud in Oslo, with capture technology from Shell Cansolv. This has also been tested by us at TCM. The Longship project shows the way, also because it includes ground-breaking solutions for the transport and storage of CO₂ on the Norwegian continental shelf. The fact that Yara has this year entered into an agreement with Northern Lights to store 800,000 tonnes of  CO₂ annually from a factory in the Netherlands on commercial terms – without governmental subsidies – shows that the industry is not only aware of its climate responsibility, but also sees its benefits in investing in CCS rather than having to pay dearly for its emissions.

Shell Cansolv to test for the third time

American RTI International ended earlier this autumn a six-month test campaign at the amine plant at Mongstad. After the test at TCM, the company has entered into a partnership with Schlumberger, which will commercialize RTI’s NAS technology. A new test campaign at the amine plant is now being prepared.

– It is Shell Cansolv that is coming to TCM for the third time to test a new solvent the company has developed. The test starts in the new year and the campaign will run throughout the spring. This shows that suppliers of mature technologies for use in imminent CCS projects still need to qualify such technologies for commercial use. There is fierce competition among the suppliers to offer solvents that provide the greatest possible CO₂ capture, low emissions and at the lowest possible price, and to document this they must carry out tests under almost full-scale conditions with flue gas with a CO₂ content that can be adjusted from about approx. 1 percent up to 20 percent. In this way, the test is adapted to the conditions in which the technology is intended to be used, for example in connection with the production of cement or steel, or for handling emissions from the incineration of waste. We are in dialogue with several recognized technology companies, several of whom have the same needs as Shell Cansolv, and who want to carry out tests with us during the coming year.

– This shows that TCM is still a necessary stop for the development of commercial solutions for capturing CO₂. We don’t believe that this need will diminish as carbon capture and storage now becomes an industry in large parts of the world. There will continuously be room for improvements to the technologies based on the experience gained in the projects, and for that the suppliers need a large test facility like ours and the expertise we offer to be able to test what works best, without being disturbed.

New catch technologies are coming

At the same time as the refinement of «ready-to-cook» technologies for capturing CO₂ from large point emissions in industry, there is a lot of activity going on to develop next-generation capture technologies, including with membranes and sorbents.

– This year, TCM has hosted two American companies, MTR and TDA Research, who have tested their technologies in our area for new trapping technologies, says Shah.

– In 2023, the plan is to carry out test of technologies that are part of a research project financed by the EU, with SINTEF Energi and TCM as assistants. We also get indentation from the company InnoSepra, which is developing a technology with support from the US Department of Energy. In other words, the activity level at TCM is very high – and we like it!

When Americans boast that there is only one NASA, we must be able to proudly say the same about TCM.

Baste Tveito is general manager of Nordhordland Næringslag and Einar Vaage works in Industriutvikling Vest as manager of the project Greenspot Mongstad. The organizations work together to faciltate industrial development in Nordhordland, a region with seven municipalities and close to 50,000 inhabitants.

– Over the past 50 years, a broad industrial environment linked to oil and gas has been established in the region, with the Mongstad refinery as a natural centre. People are pleased with the industry because it provides work for many and ensures the welfare of all who lives here. In contrast to many other industrial environments in Norway, the economic conditions for what we do have been stable and good. Thus, we have been able to build «stone on stone» and gradually develop the companies and society, Tveito points out.

Ready for the «washing machine»

– But now it’s our turn for a round in the «washing machine», emphasizes Vaage. – To say that what we are facing is a revolution is a bit dramatic, while evolution is a bit too weak. Something in between is the most covering. It is about companies with significant emissions having to be converted, and that all new businesses to be established at Mongstad must capture and store their CO₂ emissions. In this work, the outstanding expertise that TCM represents will be of great importance.

TCM was among the initiators of Greenspot Mongstad. The project aims to turn the area with Norway’s largest supply base, busiest port and largest refinery into a versatile, green industrial park. There are already around 60 companies in the area with 2,400 jobs. If all the planned pieces fall into places, there will be many more.

A hydrogen factory next?

An important key will be the realization of the project for the construction of a facility at Mongstad Industripark for the production of blue hydrogen as energy for ships and industrial production in the area.

– The plans for large-scale production will make it attractive to several larger industrial companies that seize the opportunity and establish themselves near the planned hydrogen factory. The dialogues have started, but are still in an early phase, says Einar Vaage.

Hot water from the refinery to be used

But the green shift at Mongstad encompasses far more than production of liquid hydrogen for energy. Today, significant energy resources are being wasted when hot water from Equinor’s refinery is discharged into the Fensfjorden. By having this water instead piped through a tunnel to the industrial area, existing buildings can be heated alternatively, while at the same time opportunities are created for establishing the production of biogas, fish farming on land and the production of feed based on fish waste. Wind turbines on asphalt are also included in the feasibility study prepared by Equinor, Eviny, ABP and Alver municipality.

– These projects are already in process, and will not entail any further interventions in nature than those done previously. The hot water from the refinery is transformed into an energy output of 85 megawatts, which places the plant on the list of the ten largest power plants in Norway. In this way, other renewable energy that companies in the area currently use is also freed up for alternative use.

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Needs expertise on carbon capture

However, Baste Tveito and Einar Vaage emphasize that an important prerequisite for success with the green shift for the industry at Mongstad is expertise in capturing CO₂.

– But we are in the fortunate situation that we have TCM, which for over ten years has tested both mature and brand new technologies for technology suppliers from all over the world at its plant at Mongstad. This environment thus has the very best prerequisites for also being able to assist industrial developers locally when they have to make their choices to reduce and remove carbon emissions. The business at the technology centre moves in the borderland between research and realizaton of full-scale capture projects, an expertise the industry will obviously want to make more use of. If the utility value of TCM’s activities so far has been limited for the industry in Nordhordland, it is – with the existing plans – obvious that their expertise will be very important in the future.

Important that TCM has good framework conditions

– Those of us who have followed TCM from the sidelines since its inception in 2012 are also impressed by how the company has developed. From operating with significant government support, the business has been adapted to a reality which means that actors who come to use the facility must pay much more of the cost having their trapping technologies tested and verified. This is a correct development now that CCS is finally becoming an industry that will serve a commercial market.

– At the same time, politicians must not become so eager to save money that they ignore the reputation TCM has gained internationally as a leading test center and professional environment with cutting-edge expertise on carbon capture. Remember that in the United States, NASA’s space exploration is supported by the federal government with well over 20 billion USD annually. If we are to succeed in the at least equally important fight against global warming, both the world, Norway and we in Nordhordland will need TCM for many years to come, conclude Baste Tveito and Einar Vaage.

From my point of view, passing at TCM is required for the vendor for de-risking the scale up but it is also the “necessary” stamp for having credibility in the market.

The words belong to Stephane Jouenne, who is R&D CO₂ Capture project coordinator at TotalEnergies. The company is one of three industrial owners of Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM), together with Shell and Equinor. In 2021 Jouenne joined TCM’s Technical Committee (TC) and became its leader.

Stephane Jouenne is educated as an Engineer in Chemical Engineering at ENSIC in Nancy, France. Doctor of Philosophy – PhD, Material Science from ESPCI Paris – PSL in 2005 and has been working for TotalEnergies since then.

– How important is the work in the committee to your own work as R&D CO₂ Capture project coordinator at TotalEnergies?

– My activities in TotalEnergies and TC are fully complementary and interlinked. Being at the R&D, I need to keep an eye on all the CO₂ capture technologies. The amine plant at TCM is the “test centre” of mature solvent technologies whereas 3^rd site is the crossing point of emerging and promising technologies. There is nothing better to understand a technology than following its pilot implementation. You can really touch the performances, the operability, the benefits and the remaining gaps before implementation.

– What would be the optimal next big campaign at TCM based on non-proprietary technology – what knowledge gap does the public CCS community need closed?

– TCM has already brought a lot in the development of CESAR 1 non-proprietary solvent through ALIGN CCUS project and two owner’s campaigns. A lot of learnings were acquired on emissions, solvent degradation, operational issues such as foaming, performances in steady state and dispatchable operations (cf the recently published IEAGHG report on the effect of plant Startup ans shutdown, see https://ieaghg.org/ccs-resources/blog/new-ieaghg-report-2022-08-start-up-and-shutdown-protocol-for-power-stations-with-co2-capture).

– In addition, tests performed at TCM are ideal because of the size of the amine unit for developing and validating models for simulations. TCM has recently enlarged the CO₂ concentration range of the flue gas, that can now be operated between 4 (or even lower) and 20 % CO₂ content. A new test campaign investigating this wide range of CO₂ concentration, showing the benefit of the recently installed intercooler, with additional emission measurements would complete the development of this open-source solvent. Since solvent management can reveal OPEX intensive, investigating reclaiming technologies other than thermal reclaiming would be a plus.

– What is your assessment of TCM’s importance for the Norwegian investment in CCS through the Longship project?

­– For the implementation of CCS, CO₂ capture needs to be developed in parallel to transport and storage, it is the enabler. TCM fulfilled these objectives. By demonstrating robustness and reliability, TCM gave the confidence to the market that several technologies are matured and ready to be deployed. In addition, TCM developed a whole spectrum of expertise which are today fully at the service of the different capture projects of Longship. TCM is accompanying industrials during the preparation phase and is undeniably willing to support them when projects will be in operation.

– Do you think the Norwegian industry, supported by the authorities, could have realized this full-scale capture and storage project if TCM had not existed?

– Deploying a technology requires a multistage approach from the lab to the commercial deployment to resolve key uncertainties and de-risk the projects. With the amine plant, TCM offers the highest scale pilot facility in Europe and even in the world to test a solvent before its large-scale implementation.  If TCM had not existed, CO₂ emitting industries would have been more reluctant to build a CO₂ capture plant. Authorities would have to support and pay for this lack of confidence and the “learning by doing” of the end-users.

– What is your assessment of TCM’s role in the future?

– The CCS market should now grow rapidly. I expect that TCM will continue to share its expertise, offer its services and develop new competencies from the operational feedback of the CO₂ capture plants in operation. 

– Do you think the amine plant will be relevant for further improvements to this capture technology, especially to reduce costs by use of the technology at full scale plants?

– The two pillars for reducing the technical cost are solvent and process development. One seeks to maximize performances in term of capture and energy, minimize the cost of both the solvent and the process, the solvent losses, the emissions, the footprint and limit operational issues. Changing the whole process of the amine unit is not conceivable. However, there is still a room for improvement in evaluating the effect of some process modifications like for example intercooling.  Once built, commercial CO₂ capture units will have to deal with solvent management issues which can be OPEX intensive. Testing innovative flue gas pre-treatment technologies and alternative reclaiming technologies on the unit could bring a lot of value. At last, long-term testing of solvents would enable to investigate solvent degradation and emissions in more representative conditions.

– A last work: research does not stop when a technology is becoming mature. Operational issues arise new challenges and problematics. Tackling these problematics is a fertile ground for the innovations to come. 

– What opportunities do you see for TCM when it comes to testing of new technologies?

– The two first campaigns with MTR and TDA Research were performed on the 3^rd site. Although successful, TCM will in the time to come develop a specific knowhow and experience for operating these new technologies. In addition, TCM will transpose its excellence related to emissions measurement, operations in safe HSE context, process modification and technical assistance.

– Should TCM expand the range of offers for technology development within CCS? How?

– 3^rd site is already suitable for testing Direct Air Capture technologies (DAC). Adding a biomass boiler would enable to investigate BECCS.

– At last, even if it might not be the key focus in Norwegian strategy, we can think about adding the U in CCS to deal with CCUS. Having a site for testing CO₂ conversion technologies (which would require a CO₂ storage on the site) or even units combining both capture and CO₂ utilization should be pertinent in the coming years.

– 3^rd site is indeed a site suitable for testing a wide variety of technologies. As a general rule, whatever the technology, it is much easier to test a pilot unit on a dedicated site such as the 3^rd site with operators and operations focusing on the results and the success of the campaign. In comparison, when the pilot campaign is performed on the end user site, there is a risk of interference and a lack of support due to the prioritization of daily operations of the site.

Share knowledge and experience

According to the global agreement on climate change mitigation that was signed in 2015 in Paris 190 states agreed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. The major target while maintaining a high level of living standard, industrial and economic development is to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. The main ways of reducing greenhouse gases emissions are decreasing energy consumption and increasing energy efficiency technology, transition from non-renewable energy to renewable one and replacement of fuel types in the power industry (transition from coal to gas) with carbon dioxide. In recent years there has been a lot of focus on the development of technologies that facilitate large scale carbon dioxide capture.

TCM aims to share knowledge and experience from the scientific testing campaign and results from collaborative work with different research institutes and universities to benefit the entire carbon capture and storage community through publications in reputed scientific journals and presentations at conferences. TCM currently has 49 scientific publications in recognized conferences such as the Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT), Trondheim Conference on CO₂ Capture, Transport and Storage (TCCS), Post Combustion Carbon Capture (PCCC), CCUS (Carbon capture, utilization and storage) and NETL Annual capture meeting.

GHGT conference series

GHGT conference series was formed in 1997 and is an excellent platform for technical discussions related to the field of greenhouse gas control technology. The GHGT conferences are held every two years in IEAGHG’s member countries. The conference series rotates between North America, Europe and Asia. The GHGT conference series is established as the principal international conference on greenhouse gas mitigation technologies, focussing on Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage.

TCM Participation in GHGT Conferences

TCM is actively participating in GHGT conferences since 2008. In previous GHGT conferences, TCM has published results from several scientific testing campaigns conducted with the solvent called aqueous Mono Ethanol Amine (a blend of water and MEA) and CESAR1 (which is a mixture of water, 2-amino-2-methylpropan-1-ol (AMP) and piperazine (PZ). TCM has demonstrated excellent capture of CO₂ emissions and reduction of capture costs over several test periods under specific conditions.

Publications in GHGT-16

The GHGT-16 conference will be held in the French city of Lyon from 23 to 27^th October 2023. TCM and its collaborators have submitted 9 full manuscripts for the GHGT-16 conference, of which 8 are accepted for oral presentations and 1 is accepted for E-poster presentation.

– These nine articles submitted in GHGT-16 comprised different studies and results. Articles are focused on the topics such as CO₂ capture rate, specific reboiler duty, emissions, HSE and operational challenges, solvent degradation products and rate, thermal reclaiming operations, real-time monitoring of solvents, behaviour of different flue gases, erosion-corrosion mechanism of reboiler and energy and time requirement during start-up and shut-down of the TCM CO₂ capture facility. One of the articles also describes multivariate data analysis and AspenTech data analysis used to predict solvent parameters and cost of CO₂ capture estimation for future campaigns, tells Matthew Campbell.

The titles of the article and their brief summaries are described below.

        I.            CESAR1 Solvent degradation and thermal reclaiming results from TCM testing

In this article, solvent degradation for CESAR1 has been explored. Results of degradation have also been compiled for CHP (~ 3.7 vol % CO₂ and ~ 14 % O2) and RFCC flue gas (~ 13.5 vol % CO₂ and ~ 3.2 % O2). The CHP case also evaluates the dependency of NO₂ concentration entering the CO₂ absorber on degradation. A comparison of overall degradation rates for CESAR1 versus MEA is also presented, comparing rates of degradation under similar flue gas conditions. Results from thermal reclaiming experiments performed on the degraded CESAR1 solvent are also presented in this paper.

      II.            CO₂ Capture from SMR type flue gas using CESAR1 solvent at Technology Centre Mongstad

The paper presents the energy performance obtained with the CESAR1 solvent when varying the CO₂ concentration, absorber packing height and flow rates while maintaining 90% CO₂ capture and operational experiences with CESAR1 solvent at TCM.

    III.            Results from CESAR1 testing at the CO₂ Technology Centre Mongstad. Verification of Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) baseline results

This paper describes results from the EPRI campaign conducted in November 2020 with the CESAR1 solvent using the RFCC flue gas. EPRI assessed the performance of the CESAR1 process using an independent verification protocol, during the tests manual extractive samples were taken and the CESAR1 baseline case was conducted at conditions as close to the MEA baseline as possible using the same flue gas source along with an identical packing height, flue gas flow rate, targeted capture rate and the stripper regeneration temperature. The SRD achieved using CESAR1 solvent was 9% lower than what was possible using 30%wt. MEA solvent with the same configuration.

    IV.            Assessment of Erosion-Corrosion as Possible Failure Mechanism of Reboiler at Technology Centre Mongstad

This paper presents laboratory testing results to validate the erosion and enhanced corrosivity hypothesis. Experiments were conducted with used solvent from the TCM plant, different plant conditions were simulated: anoxic rich MEA with an excess of oxygen scavenger and oxygenated rich MEA with scavenger and an excess of oxygen. The results obtained suggest that the erosion and enhanced corrosivity hypothesis is valid and plausible. This mechanism may be the actual failure mode in the TCM reboiler.

      V.            Real-time monitoring of 2-amino-2-methylpropan-1-ol (AMP) and piperazine (PZ) emissions to air from TCM post combustion CO₂ capture plant during treatment of RFCC flue gas

This work presents the first results from a newly installed Ion-Molecule Reaction Mass Spectrometer (IMR-MS) that was employed during the test campaign with the amine solvent blend of AMP and PZ to monitor trace pollutants in the emitted flue gas.

    VI.            Multivariate data analysis of online sensors and spectroscopic data for the prediction of solvent composition parameters for MEA

This work demonstrates how multivariate data analysis can be employed to predict solvent parameters that can be reported in real-time for improved control of the capture process. For this study data was utilised from MEA campaign conducted at TCM in 2015.

  VII.            Evaluating performance during start-up and shut down of the TCM CO₂ capture facility

In this paper results from Imperial College of Landon (ICL) testing conducted in 2020 at TCM are described. Tests were conducted to quantify the residual CO₂ emissions, energy requirements, and time requirements of start-up and shutdown in amine-based CO₂ capture plants. These tests used CESAR1 solvent to capture CO₂ from flue gas exiting from the natural gas-fired CCGT combined heat and power (CHP) plant.

VIII.            Development of process model of CESAR1 solvent system and validation with large pilot data

This paper presents model development using AspenTech and validation work for an initial version of the CESAR1 process model. The process model is validated with a set of seven steady-state test runs, collected over a wide range of operating conditions at the pilot plant at TCM (12 MWe scale) with natural gas-based combined cycle turbine flue gas (~ 3.5 vol% CO₂).

    IX.            Development of CO₂ capture process cost baseline for 555 MWeNGCC power plant using standard MEA solution

This paper describes an extensive study using the program AspenTech and TCM’s 10 years of operational knowledge and experience to develop CO₂ capture process cost baseline for 555 MWe Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) power plant with non-proprietary 30 wt% MEA, this can provide guidance to project developers as well as new technology developers to assess different projects. The key finding from this costing baseline study are as follows: The total capital expenditure for capturing 90% CO₂ from 555 MWe Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) power plant using aq. 30 wt% MEA solvent is estimated to be around 326.6 million USD. Annual total operating costs are estimated to be 47 million USD. Assuming 25 years of plant life, the cost of CO₂ capture is calculated to be 47 USD/ton.

Facts about Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM)

The Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM DA), established in 2012, is the world’s largest facilities to test, verify and demonstrate different post-combustion carbon dioxide capture (PCC) technologies. The company has a common vision to facilitate the development of carbon capture technologies for the wide deployment of large-scale carbon capture technologies across industries. TCM operates under an emissions permit from the Norwegian authorities, ensuring safe and measurable results in every aspect of the operation.

TCM is located next to the Equinor refinery in Mongstad that has delivered two types of flue gas sources, see Figure 1 : (1) combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) based heat and power plant flue gas (CHP) and (2) residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) flue gas. The different flue gas sources enable TCM to mimic flue gases from different industries such as CCGT, coal power plants, cement, waste incineration, gas processing, steam reforming and oil refining. TCM has an amine plant, ammonia unit and module site for emerging technologies. For utilization of these sites, different vendors from all over the world come to TCM to test and develop efficient and safe technologies which can be used at onshore industrial plants in operation. In addition, scientific open-source testing campaigns have been conducted at TCM, serving as benchmark for commercial technologies.

Since its operational start-up in 2012, TCM has operated several scientific testing campaigns (owner’s campaigns/non-proprietary campaigns). With the experiences from scientific testing campaigns, TCM developed sufficient data and results related to CO₂ capture technologies and amine plant.

In 2017

In 2017, Equinor decided to execute a plan to shut down the combined heat and power plant (CHP) in the coming years. This CHP plant is located adjacent to TCM testing facility and is based on a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) with two gas turbines, each with a waste heat recovery unit. The plant is fuelled by a mixture of natural gas from the Troll offshore gas field and refinery fuel gas.

In 2022

In the third quarter of 2022, Equinor completed the shutdown of the CHP plant and rebuilt one of the gas turbine trains into a new steam boiler, including revamp of the waste heat recovery unit. This plant is now referred to as the Mongstad Heat Plant (MHP). The intention of this steam boiler is to replace the old gas turbine.

As the MHP plant is only fuelled by the refinery gas, one of the main changes is the CO₂ concentration in the flue gas, is 8 – 9 vol% compared to 3.5 – 3.7 vol% in the CHP flue gas.

Enable TCM to test at higher CO₂ concentrations

Due to the design flexibility in the TCM amine plant, it should still be possible to provide low CO₂ testing concentrations simulating CCGT type flue gas by diluting the MHP flue gas with air to around 3.7 vol% CO₂. Moreover, this new flue gas type will enable TCM to test at higher CO₂ concentrations up to 20 vol% CO₂ (with CO₂ product recycling to inlet) to mimic other industry applications such as steel and cement type flue gases.

2022 marks Technology Centre Mongstad’s (TCM) 10th birthday. We are celebrating by interviewing a range of people have made their mark on TCM over the last decade.

– Why did you apply for a position at TCM?

– When I first visited TCM back in 2013 as a member of the CO₂ Abatement Research & Development team at Shell Global Solutions, I knew right away that I wanted to secure a role at Mongstad. On that visit, we discussed how to demonstrate a proprietary emerging capture technology. At the end of a packed day, there was no exhaustion – instead, I felt excited and motivated. A few days later, reflecting on the visit to TCM, I decided to make working there a career goal.

– Last year, Shell offered me the opportunity for a secondment, and I wasn’t going to let that pass me by.

– What were your first impressions of TCM in 2013?

– As impressive, exciting, and educational place to be. I’m a short Greek girl, and I remember trying to keep up with this tall Norwegian tour guide, trying to catch his every word.

– I couldn’t believe that after so many years in labs working with everything in miniature, I was now standing right next to a capture plant on an almost industrial scale! Obviously, I was following the exciting developments at the commercial CCS facilities that are using Shell technologies, but I’d never actually been up close and personal with a capture plant before then.

– I was also very lucky because the weather was unusually nice. I honestly couldn’t understand why people kept using comments about the weather as ice breakers. Now that I live here, I know! 😊

– What would you say is the most rewarding and interesting work you have taken part in at TCM since joining?

– The great thing about my job is that I’m at the centre of a team that is uniquely positioned to provide vital help to teams around the world who have ambitious plans to deploy carbon capture plants at their facilities. Every single time we receive enthusiastic feedback telling us that our support proved invaluable for the next phases of their projects and each time they come back to find out more from us, I know I have done my bit in helping the world to move a step closer to addressing climate change.

– What’s the most challenging thing about working at TCM?

– Its location, especially in winter. I really dislike driving in dark, but TCM is situated in a quite a rural area about an hour’s drive from Bergen where I live. That being said, I must admit that I do recognise that TCM is smartly located next to a refinery and power plant, which means we can utilise their flue gases and utilities for testing our technology under real industrial conditions.

– When you tell your friends and acquaintances about TCM, what do you emphasise as its most important aspect?

– That TCM is a powerful addition to our toolbox in the fight to reduce CO₂ emissions. It is the only facility in the world that can support carbon capture technology developers in their efforts to fully de-risk their technology before commercialisation, and we are the only team in the world that can share the impartial expertise that is needed if technology buyers are going to make smart decisions independently.

– Looking back on 10 years of TCM, what should TCM employees past and present be most proud of?

– Back in 2006, the realisation that the technology and the financials were not mature enough for commercial scale applications lead to the decision to build a test facility to serve as the world’s centre of expertise in order to de-risk the technology. Since the opening its doors in 2012, TCM has – through a range of proprietary testing – contributed to creating a competitive commercial landscape by supporting key stakeholders as they de-risk their technology. TCM’s non-proprietary campaigns have also delivered invaluable knowledge to the scientific and industrial community, which has made it possible to overcome the barriers to deploying technology. Tackling key blockers such as emissions monitoring, emission permit process, operating with complex flue gases and of course reducing the cost of the technology are just some of the highlights on the list of TCM’s achievements over its first 10 years of operation.

– What are your hopes for TCM in the coming decade?

– I expect TCM to maintain its recognised position as the centre of expertise in amine carbon capture technology at engineering scale for years to come. I envision TCM’s task force growing its capabilities in emerging carbon capture technologies by deploying a series of both non-proprietary and proprietary testing campaigns at the emerging technologies site which launched last year.

– My hope is that a strategy will set out the future of CCS investment in Norway, exploring needs and trends and how to respond to these through interaction between centres of knowledge and infrastructure stakeholders, says Alexandra

Familiar with the history of TCM

She is more familiar with the history of TCM than most, having been tasked with overseeing the construction of the world’s largest and most flexible test centre for carbon capture when she headed up the New Energy division at what was then StatoilHydro. Nevertheless, she emphasizes that her commitment to TCM is not based on rose-tinted nostalgia, but on the need for continuous technological development to achieve climate goals.

– Given the targets that have been set for CO₂ capture both in Norway and in other countries, we still have a long way to go to if we’re to realize both large facilities and smaller projects. As an industry, CCS needs to be scaled up, and the cost of each unit of CO₂ captured must come down. If we’re going to succeed, we need further investment in research and development. In that regard, both SINTEF and TCM have key roles to play.

CCS a crucial investment area

Gjørv agrees with the designation of SINTEF and TCM as ‘toolboxes’ for the development of technologies for carbon capture to meet the needs of the society.

– We have been able to work well together, with our researchers working on tasks that have laid the foundations for solutions that have gone on to be tested and validated by our colleagues at Mongstad. In addition to capture technology, SINTEF has spent decades working on solutions for the transport and storage of CO₂, and we are seeing increased commercial interest in this area as well. Overall, CCS constitutes a significant part of SINTEF’s portfolio. We are focusing extensively on research into hydrogen, both as an energy carrier and as an industrial raw material for various industrial stakeholders who must find their practical solutions to achieve net zero or carbon negative solutions.

Having trained as a lawyer, Alexandra Bech Gjørv practised as a partner at Hjort before being appointed CEO of SINTEF in 2016. She became a familiar face to many in Norway for her work as chair of the independent commission tasked by the government to investigate what went wrong before and during the terrorist attacks in the Norwegian Government Quarter in Oslo and on the island of Utøya on 22 July 2011. Prior to this, she spent many years as head of New Energy at Norsk Hydro and later as part of the merged StatoilHydro entity (now known as Equinor), where project responsibility for TCM became one of her main tasks in 2007.

The devil is in the detail

– At Hydro, I had worked on positioning the company commercially for the storage of CO₂, but capture was a new area for me, even though Hydro’s researchers had also worked a lot on this. If I were to characterize the experience of overseeing construction of the technology centre, the words painful and instructive spring to mind. It was a project with very high levels of political visibility which had been initiated based on an unfinished draft of a project plan with cost estimates that turned out to be unrealistic. It required a lot of work and effort both to make a good plan and to create an understanding that the real cost was going to be at a completely different level than had first been envisaged. This experience with TCM has served me well since then. Among other things, I have contributed to the fact that an enormous effort has been put in over many years related to quality assurance of the plans for the Ocean Space Center in Trondheim, says Gjørv. – The devil is often in the detail, she adds.

Kept faith in what was important

– But even though TCM as a project was anything but plain sailing, it also taught me valuable lessons in not losing faith in things that are important. It’s worth noting that other key individuals from that project have gone on to bigger things: Sverre Overå, who managed construction of the facility, is today project director for Northern Lights. The person I dealt with most in government as part of the project, Andreas Eriksen, has gone on to be the Secretary General at Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

Unique facility – relevant expertise

Alexandra Bech Gjørv emphasizes that capturing CO₂ will be vital if we are address climate change.

– At SINTEF, we believe that both those who will deliver proven technology to full scale capture facilities and those who will introduce new technologies will need to make use of the unique facilities TCM offers. We are eager to collaborate with them on this, and also on the development of other climate technologies. Congratulations on your 10th anniversary – and good luck for the future!

Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) has a 10-year anniversary in 2022. We celebrate ourselves with interviews with people who in various ways have had impact on the business in these years.

–  Why did you apply for a position at TCM?

– Before I started at TCM, I had worked for seven years as a Specialist advisor on amine and caustic treating processes to world wide clients, within CO₂ capture, refineries, LNG, GTL and sour gas processing facilities. This included development of scouting and feasibility studies and test run simulations for various plants, and also some trouble shootings. When the opportunity for an engagement at the newly started test center at Mongstad opened up, I thought this both could be very evolving and interesting, and that I had something to contribute. I have never regretted that decision.

– How was your first meeting with TCM?

– I cannot now remember what happened my first day at Mongstad. But what is strong in my memory was that I was fascinated by the size of the facility. TCM is unique in the world, both in terms of size, flexibility and not least competence. I therefore realized early on that here I was going to thrive. The family had then established themselves in Stavanger, and I commuted three to four days a week to Mongstad. In the first years I lived in an apartment nearby, before I moved to Bergen.

– What will you highlight as the most rewarding and interesting work you took part in at TCM?

– I started my work at TCM just over year after the opening and was like everyone else excited about whether testing of technologies seemed as assumed, that is, whether theory and experiments in laboratories could actually be put into practice. Not least, it was important to measure and to document that the emissions were within the regulations laid down by the Norwegian authorities. The most rewarding and interesting thing was to experience that as a result of collaboration at a high professional level, we succeeded in measuring results and continuously making improvements in operation and performance – to the delight of both the customers and the entire CCS community.

– Are there projects or events you remember back with special joy?

– What I look back on with the greatest joy is the open test campaigns the owner companies with partners planned and carried out. With these, we had full control of all input factors and preparations. The campaigns resulted in important learning that made it possible to set a baseline for the operation of full-scale capture facilities using the amine technology.

– What do you think of as most challening about your work at TCM?

– My most important experience was the good team spirit that characterized the business. Ability and willingness to discuss and to solve problems across the organization was generally very good. Disagreements could still sometimes arise between departments when it came to priorities, which could be a bit challenging, but no worse than that in the end good and committing solutions were found that everyone could agree on.

– When you generally look back on 10 years of business at TCM, what do people that worked at TCM or still are working there have particular reason to be most proud of?

– I will mention two things; the fact that TCM has and continues to be relevant as an arena for testing technologies for industrial deployment, and the importance TCM has as a provider of knowledge to the CCS community worldwide. The scientific articles TCM has produced and presented have been of great importance for the industry and have made the company an internationally recognized brand.

– What is your wish for TCM the next ten years?

– My hope is that TCM succeeds in strengthening its position as a world-leading center for testing and improving both mature and new technologies. I wish all my colleagues and friends at Mongstad the best for the years to come!

Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) has a 10-year anniversary in 2022. We celebrate ourselves with interviews with people who in various ways have had impact on the business in these years.

–  Why did you apply for a position at TCM?

– After having taken my doctorate in CO₂ capture, in 2012 I was employed by Equinor to work in this field. Just over a year later, the opportunity opened to become Technology Manager at TCM. I had then mostly worked in laboratories, and thought it was incredibly exciting to be able to contribute to the development of capture technology and knowledge in an industrial environment. So I applied, and was the lucky one who got the job.

– How was your first meeting with TCM?

– For me, the transition was smooth, because I had also participated in the process of building the technology centre. In the spring of 2012, I spent some time at TCM to see and learn, and also got to participate in the ceremony when Jens Stoltenberg opened the facility. My interest in what we could achieve with the technology centre had thus long been very alive. So when I started working in October 2013, I had a very strong and good feeling that I should now be able to work with what I really wanted. The expectations of both my own and the skilled technology colleagues were high.

– What will you highlight as the most rewarding and interesting work you took part in at TCM?

– When I started, there was a lot of skepticism about carbon capture as a concept, both in Norway and internationally. Therefore, we felt a very strong obligation to prove that we could actually help create a new industry that was useful in the climate battle. TCM’s role has been and is to demonstrate that the capture of CO₂ from flue gases is possible, through testing and qualification of various technologies and technology suppliers. However, at that time we moved into an unknown landscape, which was both exciting and at times a little intimidating. What I look back on as most rewarding is that we succeeded in moving boundaries and breaking down barriers in technological development. This is due both to the fact that TCM has the best facilities and personnel in the world that attracted the best technology suppliers and research expertise, but also that we had strong owners who were willing to invest in what we were doing.

– Are there projects or events you remember back with special joy?

– The fact that we, together with Aker Carbon Capture (now Aker Clean Carbon) and Cansolv Technologies, managed to carry out their test campaigns in 2013 – 2016 with very good results, was of great importance both to Aker, Cansolv and to TCM. Among other things, this laid the foundation for us in Norway now realizing CCS as an industry through the Longship and Northern Lights project – without a doubt very gratifying.

What I remember as special both with this and later test campaigns, was the fantastic team effort that was put in by people from the various units at TCM. Involving people from different cultures and with different backgrounds in processes to achieve common goals can be demanding. But in a relatively small organization like TCM, it is both a virtue of necessity, and it gives enormous power if one succeeds. My best memory is that we gathered employees with different mindsets, approaches and views to professional discussions around the same table and found solutions that in total were very good.

– What do you think of as most challenging about your work at TCM?

– Everyday life at TCM generally went without major frustrations. It was enough to hang our fingers in, and the progress we experienced stimulated constant efforts and improvements. What was a bit tiring was how people in the environment – and especially in the media – related to the business. The use of CO₂ resources on management and CCS was and is still challenging, and it became demanding time and time again to explain that what we were doing was not a waste, but an important measure for the climate.

–  You say you had your dream job at TCM, what made you quit as Technology Manager?

– My departure was solely for a private reason. I commuted between Drammen and Mongstad, and in 2017 our first child was born. I prioritized the dad role over TCM, and have not regretted it.

– When you generally look back on 10 years of business at TCM, what do people that worked at TCM or still are working there have particular reason to be most proud of?

– It is that TCM has been a crucial contributor to the development and realization of the value chain for capture and storage of CO₂ in full scale, both in Norway and globally. Both those who have invested in TCM and those who work there have had faith in it all the way – and everyone can rightly be proud of it.

– What is your wish for TCM the next ten years?

– TCM will exist as a technology centre that is both the most influential in the world and has a unique strength of knowledge, given that it makes the business relevant to new low-carbon technologies, such as hydrogen. I hope both the owners and the employees see the potential in expanding the repertoire for climate technology. TCM has all the possibilities.