Who is NORSUS?
Originally starting as Østfold Research Foundation in 1988, the Norwegian Institute for Sustainability Research (NORSUS) is one of the leading research institutes on Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), with over 30 years of experience with circular economies.
Their vision is to contribute to knowledge for sustainable development through innovation, and are passionate about making a better use of resources, from the product level to the societal level.
NORSUS has extensive experience with performing LCAs of carbon capture and storage (CCS). In 2021, NORSUS conducted a study called Life Cycle Assessment of CCS (carbon capture and storage) and CCU (carbon capture and utilisation). This study was based on two Norwegian industrial cases, which it compared with their respective reference scenarios.
Other CCS and CCU relevant research development by NORSUS include:
- the inclusion of human and ecotoxological effects in LCA modelling of CCS,
- the development of a specific approach for evaluating CCS in arctic environments,
- systematic comparative LCA assessments of a range of CCS- and non-CCS-based power generation alternatives.
What is an LCA?
A life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method of tracking a product’s environmental impact throughout its entire life cycle. This means that it considers the product at each stage of its existence, from raw material extraction to materials processing, use, and finally disposal or recycling. Transportation between these stages is also considered.
Identifying and describing all input of energy and material over the product’s life span and the release of substances into the environment enables an LCA to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a product system or activity. This can further be used to discover whether and where changes of parts of the life cycle can increase the product’s sustainability.
You can read more about NORSUS’ work with LCAs on their website.
How will NORSUS contribute to ACT LOUISE?
In ACT LOUISE, NORSUS will lead Task 4.3 in the “Business case development” work package (WP4), and conduct an environmental LCA of the cases determined by the project partners. This will enable a range of environmental impacts to be calculated based on the relevant input and output material and energy flows.
In order to ensure a fair comparison, both CCS and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) cases and reference scenarios will be modelled and analysed.
Parameterised models will enable scenarios to be evaluated efficiently, and planned activities include assessments of both the cases’ impact on the environment and potential trade-offs. Screening LCAs will be performed early in the project to identify hotspots for recycling spent oxygen carriers. This can provide valuable input to the innovation process.
Input data for the LCA will be provided from all tasks of the project and will be further collected and structured by NORSUS to fit into the developed LCA model.
You can find out more information about NORSUS and ACT LOUISE’s other partners on the Partners page of this website.
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