Monitoring and modelling of geological storage of CO2 - Experiences gained at the Ketzin pilot site, Brandenburg (Germany)

The Ketzin pilot site in Brandenburg was the first and is still the only active CO2 storage project in Germany. Since start of injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) in June 2008, more than 56,000 t CO2 have been successfully injected into sandstone horizons at depths of 630 to 650 m until December 2011. The injection of CO2 is accompanied by one of the most comprehensive scientific research and development programmes. The results show that i) the geological storage of CO2 at the Ketzin test site runs safely, reliably and without any risks for people and environment, ii) a meaningful combination of different geochemical and geophysical monitoring techniques is able to detect even small amounts of CO2 and to mirror its spatial distribution, iii) fluid-rock interactions induced by the injected CO2 have no significant effects at the Ketzin test site and do not affect the reservoir and cap rocks' integrity, and iv) numerical simulations are able to quantify the timely and spatial behaviour of the injected CO2.