Located 40 kilometres from Warrnambool, the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) comprises participants from Australian and international industry, universities, research bodies, as well as state, federal and international government agencies.

CO2CRC CEO Dr Richard Aldous said the ongoing funding showed the state government recognised the important role its technology played in tackling climate change.

“In a world in which demand for fossil fuels is projected to continue for many decades, we must embrace all technologies with real potential to limit, or prevent, carbon emissions from fossil fuel use,” Dr Aldous said. 

“CCS is a vital component in that portfolio of technologies.

“The Victorian government’s new funding confirms the next stage of the CO2CRC Otway Project research program will go ahead, and it secures the ongoing use of Victoria’s brown coal.”

The research program will further improve the reliability, safety and drive down the cost of carbon storage methods.

Minister for Energy and Resources Russell Northe said the funding would enable the globally-recognised organisation to embark on the next stage of its Otway Project research program.

During the past 10 years, the Otway Project has injected and stored more than 60,000 tonnes of CO2 in a depleted gas reservoir deep underground at Nirranda. 

“Recognised as one of the world’s leading CO2 storage pilot demonstration and research projects, the Otway Project in south-west Victoria has already demonstrated that CO2 can be safely produced, transported, injected, stored and monitored,” Mr Northe said.

“By further advancing this work, the CO2CRC opens up future opportunities to attract investment and jobs in new industries involved in the conversion of brown coal to value added commodities such as synthetic gas, fertiliser and methanol.”

Dr Aldous said the CO2CRC Otway Project had clearly shown that CO2 storage was a safe, credible long-term option for mitigating emissions that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and contribute to further damaging climate change. 

“Otway offers one of the most comprehensive CO2 monitoring programs of its type in the world, providing technical information on geosequestration processes, technologies and monitoring, as well as verification schemes,” he said.

“Appropriate government policy, including funding initiatives and other enabling mechanisms, is fundamental to the successful development, demonstration and deployment of new technologies.”

The funding announcement on Sunday followed a highly instructive examination of the international progress of CCS at Australia’s biennial National CCS Conference last week.

j.pech@fairfaxmedia.com.au