gCCS is the world's first process modelling environment for support of design and operating decisions across the full CCS chain, from power generation through CO2 capture, compression and transport to injection. It is specifically designed to allow developers across the chain to address issues of interaction and interoperability between different chain components.
The gCCS software will be used during the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study phase of Shell's Peterhead CCS demonstration project to provide insight into the transient behaviour of the amine-based capture unit, and its effect on operations when integrated within the full system. In particular it will help to demonstrate the flexibility of the capture process design within the wider CCS chain through simulation of normal and off-design operational scenarios, and thus help reduce technology risks in this first-of-a-kind CCS project.
Alfredo Ramos, PSE's head of Power & CCS and leader of the development, said, "this is precisely the type of large-scale CCS application that gCCS was developed to support. For the first UK commercial use, we are very pleased to see it being used on such an important development."
gCCS is the commercially-supported product resulting from the £3m Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) funded CCS Systems Modelling Tool-kit project. The project was established to support the future design, operation and roll-out of cost-effective CCS systems in the UK and involved E.ON, EDF, Rolls-Royce, CO2DeepStore, PSE and E4tech.