CCS is a set of technologies for the capture of CO2 from its anthropogenic point sources, its transport to a storage location or treatment plant, and its isolation from the atmosphere. There are at least three reasons why we should consider CCS. First, fossil fuel based power generation is one of the candidate options in the Swiss energy roadmap. Secondly, reduction of CO2 emissions is a global issue and requires concerted international action; new technology and know-how developed within this project would have a global value and could be commercialized and implemented worldwide. Finally, even though significant additional cost and energy penalties are associated with the implementation of CCS, this technological option will be needed to bridge the gap until CO2-free/neutral energy technologies are able to become the most prominent primary energy source. With reference to this, the aim of the CARMA project is twofold. On the one hand we intend to explore the potential for and the feasibility of the deploym ent of CCS in Switzerland and in a few other countries within the framework of future energy scenarios. On the other hand we aim at exploiting available expertise to develop new CCS technologies and know-how, which might be applied in Switzerland and worldwide. The CARMA project will occupy a team of scientists and students from different Swiss scientific institutions. With this pro-posal we ask BFE for partial funding of the CARMA project, whose detailed description is attached.
