International Master
CO2 Geological Storage

Course description

Postgraduate Master Study “CO2 Geological Storage”

This postgraduate specialist university study is offered jointly by Sapienza University of Rome and University of Zagreb. In addition to these two providers of the study programme, the participation of Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Heriot-Watt University (HWU), Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and CO2Geonet European Network of Excellence has been confirmed.

Both University of Zagreb and Sapienza University of Rome have a longstanding record of teaching and research in the field of CO2 Geological Storage, as well as all the other research institutions involved. Collaboration in various FP6, FP7 and H2020 projects and the creation of networks such as CO2GeoNet http://www.co2geonet.com/home/ and ENeRG https://energnet.eu/ are part of the background which led to the development of the Master. The institutes are also involved in CO2 pilot storage sites in Europe. They will make available their state-of-the-art expertise also by co-mentoring individual work of the students during the second semester.

Study programme profile and description

Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) is a rapidly advancing field with many interdisciplinary scientific and technical challenges that are being addressed globally. This Study was organised for the first time within the H2020 project ENOS to prepare a new generation of young people who want to work on these topics, and it is now open for the academic year 2022-2023. The course will present an overview of state-of-the-art CCS operations and research; it will focus on the technical and scientific considerations for CO2 injection and safety monitoring, the exploration of critical processes in laboratory studies, and numerical modelling, and conclusively on sound and reliable storage capacity estimates, including the project economics and planning of mitigation measures in case regulatory requirements are not fully met.

The programme will cover all aspects of the geological storage of CO2 so that the students will be able to understand the work of all the different specialists involved in CCS projects, such as reservoir engineers, geologists, geophysicists, geochemical modelers, economists, regulators, etc.

Starting from their previous geoscientific knowledge from graduate level, after finishing this study (postgraduate specialist level) the participants will be able to further develop their own field of specialization and independently conduct work as part of a team working on a CO2 geological storage project. In addition, proficiency in the integrated methodology for exploration of the deep subsurface will further their competence as geoscience professionals in general, since the Master provides experience and knowledge which can be applied for many other purposes – e.g. exploration and exploitation of geothermal resources, deep aquifers, energy storage, management of the use of the subsurface, etc.

Lectures in the first semester are organized in blocks, according to the sequence of modules in the table above. Exams are planned after each module. Modules are organized in three blocks, two in Rome and one in Zagreb.

After a student has passed all the exams and participated actively in a joint project, he/she spends a mobility period (Traineeship 2) at one of partner institutes or universities to carry out research and write the final thesis. After a student has submitted a thesis for evaluation, and the thesis has been evaluated positively, the student will defend the thesis in front of the three–member committee appointed by the Scientific Educational Council and with the audience of the other students of that study cycle.

Locations and equipment

Lectures at Sapienza University of Rome will be held in the "Lucchesi Hall" or in other two lecture rooms reserved for the master. The Tectonics and Fluid Chemistry Lab has gas chromatography and field equipment for soil gas surveys. The computer room has the following software installed: Schlumberger simulation packages, Move (Midland Valley), MathLab, Kingdom suite.

Lectures at University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering will be held in the council hall and lecture room for postgraduate studies (VP03). The “Laboratory for routine and special core analysis” has equipment for measuring helium porosimetry, absolute permeability in Hassler core holder, permeability by falling pressure method and capillary pressure measurement using Purcell's method. The computer room (V113) has the following necessary software installed: Schlumberger simulation packages, R, Python and MathLab.

Requirements for enrolling in the study programme

Candidates are required to have a Master degree in Earth Sciences, Petroleum Engeneering and Chemistry according to the European Qualification Framework. Persons that have a degree issued by non-EU universities can be admitted to the course in the case that the Scientific Educational Council recognizes it sufficient for admission (see Instruction for Application document, in this page). The course will be financed by tuition fees, contributions from CO2GeoNet and possible donations by other public and private institutions, within their national regulations. Teacher mobility will be financed through those sources, while extra expenses for student mobility (travel, food and accommodation expenses) will be covered by each student. The fee is EUR 2000.

Contacts and information

prof. Sabina Bigi, Earth Sciences Department, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences, University of Rome La Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 - Roma, Italy, (+39) 06 4991 4922, 

sabina.bigi@uniroma1.it 

http://www.dst.uniroma1.it/Bigi  

Other informations are available on the Sapienza website (educational plan, fees, etc.):

https://www.uniroma1.it/en/pagina/advanced-professional-courses 

and

https://www.uniroma1.it/en/offerta-formativa/master/2022/co2-geological-...

Educational plan of the International master “CO2 Geological Storage”

The challenges and opportunities offered by the programme are substantial, as CCS is one of the technologies that are necessary to contain global temperature within the target of -1,5°C in 2050. Europe is investing on CCS research and application and thus it is expected that the technology will have a strong development in the future. The application of CCS at industry scale will offer new opportunities, meeting the challenge of providing a low carbon energy that will appeal to a more environmentally conscious generation. The applicants will have the opportunity to get in contact with the main European research groups working on CCS. Lots of them also cooperate with industry in developing pilot and demo sites. 

The ENOS project is supported by CO2Geonet (www.CO2Geonet.com) and all its partners.