Networks need to be able to cater for varying emitter rates and compositions. Injection points and storage formations need careful monitoring and control to ensure successful operations. All of this must be done without wasting energy to make CCS financially and technically viable. One of the most significant risks is corrosion.   

In oil and gas transportation works, corrosion factors and mitigation methods are well understood. However, for CCS, new challenges can arise in months, especially due to the impact of multiple impurities and chemical reactions. For CCS projects, this can trigger unplanned downtime, financial penalties, reputational damage, and health and safety risks too.

But what makes corrosion in CCS even more problematic is its unpredictability. Water in the pipelines reacts with CO₂ to form carbonic acid, which corrodes carbon steel. But that’s only part of the story. Impurities such as hydrogen sulphide, nitrous oxides, glycol, and oxygen can further accelerate corrosion, making it hard to model and even harder to manage. And there’s erosion risks to contend with too: particles carried in the CO₂ stream can physically wear away surfaces, compounding the damage from corrosion.

A recent study by Pace CCS and the Net Zero Technology Centre shed light on the sheer scale of the complexity – finding that there are over 4,000 “thermodynamically likely” chemical reactions that can take place between impurities in a typical CCS industrial network This complexity makes corrosion not only harder to model but almost impossible to predict using conventional methods.

Despite the potential impact, and indeed there are already cases of corrosion damage to CCS infrastructure, there is still no standardised solution for mitigating its risks. Organisations that use effective strategies to address corrosion will gain a significant competitive edge through ensuring a good return on capital deployed, resulting from high availability of their network. 

A turning point for corrosion risk analysis 

A new software modelling system, ABB’s CCS 360, marks a turning point in corrosion risk analysis. Powered by machine learning and grounded in chemistry and physics-based modelling, the system can simulate a vast number of possible scenarios in a fraction of the time that traditional models require.

The benefits for CCS projects are substantial. At its core, ABB’s CCS 360 helps operators make smarter decisions. Whether you're onboarding a new emitter, adjusting your transport method, or scaling infrastructure, the platform provides data-driven insight into the corrosion risk associated with every change.

One of the biggest breakthroughs that make it possible is the ongoing research into the true complexity of corrosion risks. Armed with this new information, CCS sites can now identify exactly what’s causing corrosion through modelling the chemical reaction pathways, providing a key input into their integrity management plan. This allows proactive actions like bringing forward their schedule for intelligent pigging. 

Now, with the knowledge and tools available, project owners can protect CCS infrastructure from corrosion, maintain operations, protect their investments, and reduce uncertainty. In an industry where so much remains uncertain, this is a game changer.