Corrosion in carbon capture and storage: 5 pressing questions answered  

In a recent webinar series focused on advancing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, the Net Zero Technology Centre’s team of CCS experts joined the team from Pace CCS, to answer the most pressing questions about managing corrosion.  

Pace CCS is a key player in the global CCS industry, involved in approximately 25% of CCS projects worldwide. Their advanced software modelling system predicts corrosion risk in CCS pipelines, addressing one of the sector’s most overlooked challenges. With support from the Open Innovation Programme’s R&D funding, Pace CCS rapidly advanced from a technology readiness level (TRL) 5 to an impressive TRL 8 in just 15 months. 

Understanding CO₂ corrosion risks in CCS across the full storage lifecycle

Understanding CO₂ behaviour is critical to the success of CCS. Its properties shift between gas and liquid phases, influencing how it interacts with subsurface environments. That’s why robust tools are essential not just for injection, but for monitoring and managing storage sites through their entire lifecycle. 

Corrosion, while often underestimated, poses a serious threat to the integrity of pipelines and wells. It’s not about CO₂ leakage it’s about structural reliability. The Pace CCS software addresses this head-on, helping engineers and project teams understand and assess corrosion risks so that CCS projects can be delivered without this issue.   

5 expert answers from the Pace CCS webinar

How effective is corrosion rate monitoring for CCS?

Most existing corrosion models are designed for liquid CO₂ environments, typically found in oil and gas operations. However, CCS presents a fundamentally different corrosion mechanism, primarily due to high pressure and phase behaviour of CO₂ in storage conditions. These differences make traditional methods unreliable.  

In fact, any corrosion rate predictions for CCS should be treated with caution. At best they’re speculative, at worst, they’re misleading. Current tools may provide corrosion rate outputs, but without correct CCS-specific input data, the results are often flawed.  

Pace CCS has benchmarked such tools and found that their chemical reaction predictions often don’t align with laboratory data. In some cases, these tools have incorrectly indicated no corrosion risk even when lab testing proved otherwise.  

How can chemical reactions in a software modelling system be experimentally validated?

The chemical reactions underpinning the Pace CCS software have been validated through a combination of laboratory testing, literature review and theoretical modelling.  

The core experimental work has been carried out by IFE (Institute for Energy Technology) in Norway, global pioneers in CO₂ corrosion research. Their extensive lab studies have been instrumental in shaping the Pace CCS software.  

Some of the relevant chemical reactions have also been studied in other sectors, such as the semiconductor industry. Pace CCS have drawn on this body of knowledge to enhance the accuracy and applicability of its modelling. In partnership with Foxconn, Pace CCS is leveraging the semiconductor industry insights to run its own lab experiments, further validating and expanding its chemical modelling capabilities. 

In collaboration with Oxford University, Pace CCS has developed a framework to assess chemical reactions that have thermodynamic potential but lack experimental or field data. This allows the software to make informed judgments even in data-scarce scenarios.  

How can software modelling identify where in the system chemical reactions occur and pinpoint areas of highest corrosion risk?

One key consideration is reaction speed. Not all chemical reactions between CO₂ impurities happen instantly. Some reactions occur rapidly often near the mixing point producing corrosive compounds. Others are slower and may result in acid formation further downstream where condensation occurs.  

While the current Pace CCS software does not generate predictive outputs for reaction locations, this functionality is being integrated into the CCS 360 by ABB. This software is designed to support real-time CCS operations and integrity management. It will offer predictive insights into where reactions and corrosions risks are most likely to occur across the network.   

Should chemical scavenging be introduced at the CO₂ source, or closer to the storage site?

In most cases, the risk of corrosive reactions only emerges when CO₂ from multiple sources is mixed.  

When dealing with a single-source CO₂ stream, it’s likely that any reactive impurities have already been removed during the industrial process and subsequent capture and dehydration stages. In such a case, the risk of chemical reactions, therefore corrosion, is minimal.  

However, once CO₂ streams from different emitters are combined, the potential for chemical reactions increases significantly. That’s where scavenger injection becomes important. It can be introduced at any point before mixing, but it’s most effective when targeted at sources known to produce reactive impurities.  

Shipping introduces another layer of complexity. Each time a ship is loaded or unloaded, liquid and vapour phases from different batches are mixed, creating new opportunities for chemical reactions.  

Ultimately, the decision comes down to project-specific factors including system design, impurity profiles and cost. The key is to assess where mixing occurs and apply scavenging solutions strategically to mitigate corrosion risk before it starts.  

What’s next for the software and corrosion management in CCS?

The Pace CCS software fills a critical gap in the CCS ecosystem by understanding and mitigating corrosion risk. As the industry scales, corrosion becomes a real challenge that engineers must address to ensure the long-term integrity of CCS infrastructure. 

Today, around 10 million tonnes of CO₂ are stored annually through CCS. By 2050, that figure is expected to reach 8 billion tonnes per year. With that growth comes a tremendous opportunity to refine tools, models and operational strategies. 

As the CCS industry matures, so will the tools that support it, ensuring that corrosion never becomes a barrier to achieving net zero.