ECCSELLENT: Development of Eccsel-eric R.I. Italian Facilities to improve user Access, Services and ensure Long-term Sustainability
The project aims to promote the development and internationalisation of Italian research in the entire CO₂ capture, utilisation, transport and storage chain, starting with upgrading the Italian facilities that are part of ECCSEL ERIC.
PNRR intervention area: Mission 4 – Education and Research
Component: 2 - From research to business
Investment: 3.1 - Fund for the creation of an integrated system of research and innovation infrastructures
Duration: the project will end on 30/10/2025
Total project funding: €16,500,000
Proposer: Istituto nazionale di oceanografia e di geofisica sperimentale - OGS (National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics)
How can we contribute to the development of infrastructure for the capture, utilisation, transport and storage of CO2?
The project, promoted by the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics - OGS, focuses on the implementation of the Italian component of ECCSEL ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium). ECCSEL ERIC is a research infrastructure encompassing transnational scientific facilities for the development of world-class laboratories in Carbon Capture, Transport and Storage (CCS).
The objectives of the ECCSELLENT project are to:
- upgrade the Italian ECCSEL ERIC facilities in the field of CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation, Transport and Storage)
- promote the development and internationalisation of research in the CCUS chain in Italy by expanding the Italian node of ECCSEL ERIC
- promote the integration and networking of data and results from new, more technologically advanced instruments
- provide opportunities for testing equipment for all the stakeholders involved, including industry and small and medium sized enterprises
- strengthen scientific excellence to address major societal challenges, both at EU level through the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and specifically for Italy
- maintain the internationally recognised level of excellence of the Italian research infrastructures dedicated to CCUS
Project structure and participation
Consortium Members
- Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna
- Politecnico di Milano
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (National Research Council)
- Agenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie, l’Energia e lo Sviluppo Economico Sostenibile (National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development)
Project team
University of Bologna team
Scientific coordinator
Prof. Marco Giacinti Baschetti
Teaching and research staff
- Matteo Minelli
Staff hired with project funds
Researchers
- Virginia Signorini
- Gianfranco Burzotta
PhD students
- Roberta Di Carlo
- Zahra Maghazeh
Missions
- Seas and Oceans
- Geological Processes
- Disaster risk
- Polar areas
- Open science
Activities of university research teams
As part of the project, the University of Bologna, through the Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering - DICAM, aims to acquire new infrastructure for:
- studying CO2 capture systems:
- solutions will be implemented to analyse membrane technologies under a wide range of operating conditions in order to evaluate different types of capture
- thin membrane manufacturing capabilities will be strengthened through the acquisition of multiple technologies, with the ultimate goal of achieving industrial scale production
- analysing critical issues related to the transport of CO2:
- investigate the effects of CO2 on different types of materials; systems will be acquired to test the barrier properties and solubility of CO2 at high pressure in materials of interest to companies or research centres, as well as instrumentation to identify any structural or chemical changes induced by the gas
- analysing CO2 behaviour in storage systems:
- the introduction of a new technique called Fast-Field Cycling Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (FFC-NMR) will give the department's laboratory greater capability to analyse the interactions between porous materials in storage wells and the CO2 stored in them.
These activities are of vital importance as they contribute to our ability to manage and reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere and to limit the effects of climate change.
The various experimental activities will be accompanied by both chemical-physical and numerical modelling, thanks to the computer cluster available, which will increase the computing power available to the researchers.
Find out more
Go to the Departement of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering - DICAM site