TCM highlights AURORA results and growing international CCS momentum

The “Knowledge Sharing 2026” conference in Sandefjord, held from 14–17 April, brought together more than 400 participants from over 40 countries. The conference thus became a highly important international meeting place for sharing experience related to carbon capture and storage (CCS). The event aimed to accelerate the deployment of CCS through the exchange of industrial experience, operational data, and cross-sector collaboration.

One of the highlights was the presentation delivered by TCM’s Managing Director, titled “TCM’s Role in CCS Deployment”. The presentation combined strategic reflections on the development of CCS with concrete results from the 2025 AURORA test campaign at TCM.

AURORA: Advancing Understanding of Real-World Solvent Performance

The AURORA campaign represented a significant step forward in understanding solvent behaviour under realistic and challenging industrial conditions. Conducted at TCM’s amine plant, the campaign evaluated the CESAR1 solvent within an EU-supported framework aimed at addressing key technical uncertainties in CO₂ capture.

Among the most important findings were the identification and mitigation of solvent precipitation challenges, which extended the operational window and improved process robustness. The campaign also delivered a comprehensive assessment of CO₂ product quality, confirming alignment with Northern Lights specifications and reinforcing confidence in downstream transport and storage chains.

For the first time, CESAR1 was tested using a representative industrial flue gas stream from a gas boiler heat production facility, providing a valuable baseline for waste-to-energy applications. Elevated CO₂ concentrations of up to 20 vol% enabled insights relevant for cement and steel industries, while operation at very low CO₂ concentrations (down to 1.5 vol%) demonstrated applicability for aluminum production scenarios.

Degradation, Performance and Process Optimisation

Further testing focused on solvent resilience, including controlled exposure to high NO₂ levels to better understand degradation mechanisms and their impact on CO₂ product quality. In addition, high-pressure regeneration was evaluated as a potential enhancement to improve energy efficiency.

Shah highlighted the broader significance of these results: “What we learn from campaigns like AURORA is not only about performance in isolation, but about how capture systems behave across a wide range of real industrial conditions.”

He also emphasised the value of long-term testing: “It is only through sustained, full-scale testing that we can reduce uncertainty and move CCS technologies towards bankable deployment.”

Site visit to Mongstad attracts strong interest

Beyond the conference programme in Sandefjord, Knowledge Sharing 2026 included technical site visits to key CCS facilities across Norway. As part of this, TCM welcomed two groups of international participants to Mongstad on 16 and 17 April, totalling 26 visitors.

The guests were received by Business Development Manager Rouzbeh Jafari, who provided an overview of TCM’s activities and led a guided tour of the facility. The visits offered first-hand insight into large-scale CO₂ capture testing and demonstrated TCM’s unique ability to bridge research and industrial deployment.

Together with Shah’s presentation in Sandefjord, the strong interest in visiting TCM underscored the centre’s central role in advancing CCS knowledge, validating technologies, and building confidence in real-world carbon capture solutions.