A Heriot-Watt Partnership, Project COMET, is among the winners of a £20m competition for innovative projects to reduce the cost of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) development.
The partnership is one of 13 projects by Universities and world leading energy and technology companies at the cutting edge of CCS research that have been awarded the money from the UK's CCS £125m research and development fund. CCS technology, if developed at scale, could allow the safe removal and storage of carbon emissions from coal and gas plants.
Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer, the first holder of the Robert M Buchan Chair in Sustainable Energy Engineering at Heriot-Watt, said, "I am delighted at the DECC announcement and to be working with Interconnector UK on Project COMET.
"The Project will work on metering technologies which are a central component in the deployment of practical and cost effective carbon capture and storage systems in the UK. This project is an excellent example of how Heriot-Watt can develop partnerships to carry out world leading research in an area of high economic and societal impact. "
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Edward Davey said: "These announcements help maintain the UK's place leading the world in CCS and delivering an affordable and secure low carbon energy mix.
"Carbon Capture and Storage is a huge opportunity for our world class research industry. Through the projects we have selected, pioneering companies and universities will be able to create new jobs and expand their markets.
Sean Waring, the Managing Director of IUK, said: "We are delighted to have been successful in DECC's CCS Innovation Competition. IUK, in collaboration with our partners, is keen to contribute to the development of a CCS industry and use its recognised terminal and sub-sea pipeline operational expertise to help meet the challenge of de-carbonising the UK energy sector while securing a long term role for natural gas in our energy mix."
The Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage (CICCS) moved to Heriot-Watt University from the University of Nottingham following the appointment of Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer.
CICCS delivers high-impact research at the interface between science and engineering and works closely with academics across Heriot-Watt's School of Engineering and Physical Sciences and the Institute of Petroleum Engineering. CICCS works internationally to accelerate the technological innovation needed for the wider deployment of carbon capture and storage.