CO2 Storage in Limburg Coal and Sandstone Layers

Nominators: Netherlands (lead) and France

Recognized by the CSLF at its London Ministerial meeting in October 2009, this is a combined pilot- and large-scale project that will determine the viability of deep underground coal-bearing sandstone layers for large-scale CO2 storage. The goal of the pilot-scale component of the project is to store 10,000 tonnes of CO2 in sandstones that underlay and intercalate with coal strata in the southern part of the Netherlands. If this is successful, the large-scale component of the project will store 250,000 tonnes of CO2 per year (up to two million tonnes total) that is now being vented to the atmosphere from nearby chemicals plants. The limited amounts of desorbed methane released from the coal seams can be captured and used directly in the industrial processes on-site.

Links to More Information

• Project website (Dutch language)
• Feasibility Study on CO2 Sequestration and Enhanced CBM Production in Zuid-Limburg report
• Presentation at CSLF London Ministerial meeting (October 2009)