Transport Optimization and Impurity Management in Shared CO₂ Transport Networks with Intermediate Storage

he GigaCCS project investigates impurity management and transport optimization in shared CO₂ transport networks with intermediate storage. As European CCUS infrastructure evolves toward multi-source clusters and shared hubs, impurity interactions and cross-contamination risks become increasingly complex. The study highlights how gas-phase exchange during ship loading and unloading can lead to impurity transfer and gradual accumulation in liquid CO₂ chains. A structured techno-economic framework has been developed to evaluate purification strategies at source, hub, or hybrid configurations. The analysis demonstrates that while source-based purification reduces cross-contamination risks, hub-based solutions benefit from economies of scale but require more advanced monitoring and operational control. Key impurities—including water, oxygen, NOₓ, SO₂, and non-condensable gases—significantly influence corrosion risk, energy demand, and overall system cost. The results underline the need for holistic impurity management strategies and improved data to enable safe, cost-efficient, and scalable CCS cluster development.