Federal Council paves the way – Storing carbon dioxide at the bottom of the sea: this is how the technology works – News

From next year, Switzerland will also be able to export carbon dioxide and store it under the sea. The most important questions and answers.

What are the plans pursued by the Federal Council? Permanently storing carbon dioxide on the seafloor should help reduce global warming. From next year, Switzerland will also be able to export carbon dioxide and store it under the sea. He has it The Federal Council decided last week. He declared that permanent storage of carbon dioxide is essential in terms of climate policy in order to expand negative emissions technologies in order to achieve international and national climate goals. One way to do this is to store carbon dioxide on the seafloor.

How does carbon dioxide storage work? Ecologist Cyril Brunner from ETH Zurich explains the following principle: There are different layers of rock on the seafloor filled with sediment. This also includes porous sandstone – carbon dioxide is then stored in these same pores. According to the ETH researcher, this process is similar to how oil and natural gas are stored over millions of years.

How can you make sure the carbon dioxide doesn’t leak again? According to Bruner, this is a central question. Because the rock layers must be suitable to be able to store carbon dioxide in the long term. “These are usually places where there are fossil deposits like oil and natural gas.” That’s why the Federal Council also plans to store carbon dioxide under the North Sea because suitable options exist there. Other points must also be taken into account: the seabed where the carbon dioxide is stored must not be geologically active and the well must be completely airtight.

What potential does carbon dioxide storage have? It is estimated that this technology has great potential. “In this way, we could theoretically store anywhere from 20% to half of the carbon dioxide we emit as humans as a whole,” Brunner says. In principle, geological storage is one of the best known ways to safely sequester CO2 – and thus also to achieve the net zero target.

Is carbon dioxide storage the solution to combat climate change? Despite all the potential of this technology, the environmentalist puts it in perspective: “It is not the solution, but it is one of many pieces of the puzzle that can be used in an effective climate strategy.” Brunner posits that storing carbon dioxide will play an important role in reducing the effects of climate change. “But we will not be able to avoid the fact that, for example, we will electrify our transportation, renovate buildings and have renewable heating systems.”