Assessing the Underground CO2 Storage Potential in a Highly Populated and Industrialized Area: The Case of Lombardia Region (Italy)

The paper is aimed to the assessment of the CO2 underground storage potential of Lombardia Region (Italy), one of the most populated and industrialized area of the Country. The study is intended to locate adequate sites for the potential application of carbon capture and geologic storage in deep underground formations. The first part of the study concerns the evaluation and analysis of the mass of CO2 generated in Lombardia Region (the largest CO2 producer in Italy, with over 70 million metric tonnes per year of CO2 released in the atmosphere) by investigating both the localized sources (industry, power generation, etc.) and the diffused ones (transport, domestic heating, etc.). The second part of the study concerns the technical evaluation of the possibility to put into practice the geologic storage of CO2 in deep underground formations of Lombardia Region. Finally, the study reports some preliminary evaluation for the possible implementation of a CO2 storage pilot plant in the area. In particular, a potential candidate located in a deep saline aquifer has been identified, and its geological and hydrodynamic modelling has been extensively studied and analyzed. The investigated reservoir has a storage capacity of more than 370 million metric tonnes of CO2, corresponding to about 30 years of CO2 emissions produced by the main thermoelectric power plants located in the same area.