The VICCO Centre aims to explore the potential for large-scale permanent CO2 storage in volcanic-sedimentary systems through carbonate mineral-forming reactions.
The overarching goal of the VICCO Centre is to explore the potential for large-scale permanent CO2 storage in volcanic-sedimentary systems on the Norwegian continental shelf, specifically by investigating carbonate-forming reactions in submarine magmatic rocks. Such carbonatization may enhance seal integrity in related CO2 reservoirs and reduce reservoir leakage risks in mixed volcanic-sedimentary systems. Carbonation processes can ensure permanent storage of CO2 by reducing the risk of reservoir leakage in the volcanic-sedimentary systems beneath the seabed.
CO2 can be stored through Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) or Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), with the success of both approaches critically depending on safe, long-term storage in geological reservoirs. VICCO will characterize, de-risk, and verify poorly studied CO2 reservoirs in the North Sea and along the Atlantic margin, applicable to both CCS and CDR.
Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, VICCO will investigate complex volcanic-sedimentary systems with highly reactive mafic rocks, widespread offshore Norway, which have potential for permanent carbon mineralization of large quantities of CO2.
The Vision and Objectives of VICCO
Our Vision: Unlock new opportunities for gigaton CO2 storage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf by exploring novel mixed sedimentary-volcanic environments that facilitate rapid, low-risk permanent carbon storage through mineralization.
Primary Objective: Increase CO2 storage potential by advancing the understanding of complex mixed volcanic-sedimentary basins and high reactivity mineralization zones for permanent storage as carbonate minerals.
Through cross-disciplinary research between geologists and physicists, the Centre will provide a multi-scale characterization of the mineral carbonation processes that may occur in heterogeneous reservoirs.
Our approach ranges from the nano-scale porosity structure and reaction mechanisms, to mineralization in fractures and pores at the core scale, to the large scale storage potential and mineral trapping of CO2 in the basins offshore Norway.
Funding and administration
The VICCO-centre has a five-year agreement with the VISTA program. It is financed with NOK five million each year from 2025 to 2029, with additional funding from The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo.
VICCO is led by Henrik Hovland Svensen, Professor in Crustal Processes at the Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Mathematic and Natural Sciences.
