Combining Geothermal Energy and CCS: From the Transformation to the Reconfiguration of a Socio-Technical Regime?

Abstract

Combining geothermal energy and CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) is a technological solution that uses the same aquifer to provide heat and to store CO2, after dissolving it into the brine, leading to a close loop, as proposed in the CO2-DISSOLVED concept. This technology is more relevant for small-scale emitters - such as biorefineries - than CCS with postcombustion and storage at a supercritical state, which requires larger scale effects i.e., most power generation plants using fossil fuels. Based on a techno-economic analysis, we provide insights on the role of CO2-DISSOLVED in the sustainable transition. Contrary to conventional CCS on fossil fuels, CO2-DISSOLVED appears as a bridge towards renewable energies, and acts as a complementary technology, enlarging the potential of CCS for small or medium industrial emitters. This innovation enriches the portfolio of CCS combinations with renewable energies, like BECCS (BioEnergies and CCS). It helps then to overcome the current debates CCS versus renewable energies, showing a large gradient of situations. According to the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) of sustainable transition, CO2-DISSOLVED could contribute to the transformation of the existing socio-technical system, and to its reconfiguration towards renewable sources of energy. As other competing technologies, it could play a rising role in the modification of the energy system. Then, focusing only on CCS implemented on large-scale emitters constitutes a narrow vision of CCS potential in the sustainable transition.