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

–  Why did you apply for a position at TCM?

– When I had completed my doctorate in chemistry at UiB in 2018, I got a job in the laboratory of DNV in Bergen. One day the boss called out to the room; «Is there anyone here who knows anything about environmental chemistry», and I replied that I knew a little about it. The next day I drove to TCM at Mongstad for a meeting with the Managing Director, HSE Manager, Technical Manager and Operations Manager. I introduced myself and was informed about the tasks as an environmental engineer. The taskes were so interesting that I immediately took the offer I got a few days later.

– How was your first meeting with TCM?

– From the first day of work, I remember the sight of a big stack of documents lying on my desk waiting to be read. It was many scientific publications, the Pollution Control Act and a lot of regulations. I was introduced to my colleagues in the HSE Department and shown around the facility, and then it was just a matter of getting started. At this time, a test campaign under the auspices of the owner companies and SINTEF had just ended, and the preparations were made for the next campaign for the American Fluor Corporation. The professional issues were many and challenging – and right up there for a «nerd» like me.

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

– With my background, working with emissions and environmental consequences related to CO₂ capture has been very rewarding. Here, TCM has had several good supporters, not least Professor Claus Nielsen at UiO and meteorologist Dag Tønnesen at NILU. We have managed to build up a competence that many have benefitted from, but we are never fully trained or «finished». The interaction between professionals across the organization; in operations, technology, business development, as well as from the laboratory and maintenance, enables us to push boundaries and come up with solutions that strengthen the development of new and more efficient technologies. Our goal is to be a world leader in our field, and that makes everyday life very interesting and exciting. There is always something new to tackle, and it never gets boring.

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

– The test campaign we conducted last year for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering was a preliminary highlight. It was carried out during the pandemic, which was very demanding. We who were responsible for facilitation and implementation never met the customer physically, neither before, during, nor after the campaign ended last autumn. Still, it went incredibly well, and the Japanese are very happy.

The reason why we succeeded with the test campaign, was the ability to adapt both in the team at Mongstad and in Japan. For us, the digital dialogue with the customer started at 07.30 every morning, at the end of their working day. Results from the day before were reported and commented on, and goals for activities in the coming day were set. There were many long evenings during the more than five months the campaign lasted, to manage and follow up deviations along the way. It was very interesting! 

When we finally were able to summarize the process, the feedback from Mitsubishi was that we had used the time very efficiently, which meant that they carried out far more tests than planned.

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

– What I think is very interesting about this job is all the people I get to meet during meetings, conferences or when they visit the plant. I like to share  what we are doing at TCM. It is especially interesting to attend events with representatives from other parts of the CCS «congregation» – researchers and others with same prerequisites who ask interesting and demanding questions. The prerequisite is then that we are in the process of preparing documentation for scientific publications, which must be 100 percent quality assured before we can publish the results. Sometimes I get questions about the tests before the result is published. It can be a bit tricky since I can’t give them an answer at that poing, even though I know what the results are. It takes time to document and verify results from the open test campaigns at TCM and give them a form that keep an academically level.

Professional presentations and discussions have suffered during the pandemic. That is why I am looking forward to the upcoming GHGT conference in Lyon in October. It will be incredibly nice to be able to meet old and new acquaintances who are passionate about carbon capture and storage.

– When you tell your friends and acquaintances about the business at TCM, what do you emphasize as the most important utility value?

– The most of my friends probably perceive me as a bit strange, someone who lives and breathes for something very special. But I think I have managed to convey that effective carbon capture technologies are a prerequisite for us to be able to implement the green shift. Testing at TCM contributes to the development of safe CO₂ capture, which does not come at the expense of the local environment where the capture processes take place. I think it is important to emphasize that point.

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

– My hope is that TCM will continue to be at the forefront of technology development. We have come a long way in these ten years, but it is obvious that there will be new and better solutions that must be tested and verified before they can be used industrially. We see this in the large number of inquiries and visits we receive from companies end environments that evaluate test campaigns with us, not leas ton the Site for Emerging Technologies. Whether I will be allowed to work at TCM until I retire may be doubtful, but I envision many good and interesting years ahead.

Name: Audun Drageset

Age: 32

Education: Doctorate (Ph.D.) in chemistry from the University of Bergen (UiB)

Marital status: Married

Affiliation with TCM: Environmental engineer, 2018 –

Present position: Environmental engineer, employed in TCM

 

– When you look back on 10 years of business at TCM, what do people that works/worked at TCM  have particular reason to be most proud of?

– We can be very proud to run a test facility that is world-leading in its kind, which is used by technology suppliers and researched-based institutions from almost the entire globe. They come not only because the facilities are first class, but also because they are met by a very competent crew who provide them with excellent professional technical support along the way.

I also think we can be proud of our ability and willingness to share our knowledge both nationally and internationally. I am an active member of the Norwegian Chemical Society and have good contact with researchers at both UiB and other universities. The dialogue with qualified academic environments gives us a lot of useful knowledge back.