Goals & Objectives:

The United States and the state of Michigan will need to invest at historic levels to reach goals of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Decarbonizing electricity and scaling up carbon dioxide removal are two of the key complementary technological transformations critical to supporting the long-term emissions reduction goals for Michigan and the broader United States. The CarbonSAFE Phase II project aims to use both of those technologies to advance knowledge about commercial-scale carbon, capture, and storage; provide fair to high wage jobs for workers displaced by the energy transition; address historic environmental injustices in Southeastern Michigan; and take the first steps toward creating a CO2 storage hub with the potential to lead not just the state of Michigan, but the country, in large-scale carbon dioxide removal. To accomplish project goals and objectives, the following types of work will be contemplated and pursued:

i. compilation and analysis of existing data

ii. drilling and characterization of a stratigraphic test well

iii. identification and evaluation of potential technical and non-technical risks to develop
mitigation plans

iv. development of necessary plans to draft a Class VI sequestration permit

v. ongoing evaluation of disadvantaged and EJ communities to ensure public acceptance,
fair treatment, and promotion of DEIA in workforce development

The results of the project will advance the region towards commercial scale development for both carbon capture, transportation (likely via dedicated CO2 pipeline) and ultimate permanent underground sequestration.

Theoretical Justification, Social Benefit, or Significance:

The outcomes of this work will promote the growth of CCS in Michigan, which has been identified by the recently published MI Healthy Climate Plan as a “key strategy” to drive clean innovation across Michigan’s industries. This includes efforts to reduce the risks of project development, advance the resources to contingent phase, and support, promote, and protect disadvantaged communities and environmental justice communities. The results could lead to a commercial scale storage program with the potential of developing into a regional storage hub, thus reducing the overall CO2 emissions, and aiding the regions move towards a more energy resilient and sustainable future. Additionally, the methodologies and plans developed under the proposed project could be applied to future projects and regions and serve as guides for future work.

The goal of the Southeastern Michigan CarbonSAFE Project is to initiate carbon capture and storage to industry across the southern region of the state. We intend to do this by bringing together the brightest minds and the boldest leaders and embracing their disparate backgrounds, perspectives, cultures, and experiences that help inform their work. We are executing the project together to do our part to help our country, and world, meet the decarbonization goals needed to stem the most devastating impacts of Climate Change. And we are meeting this challenge to ensure that we all have an opportunity for a brighter, more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible tomorrow.

Furthermore, climate change, though a global issue for all communities, has a disproportionate effect on disadvantaged communities and more specifically, on their financial ability to mitigate damages. The proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) project elements (CO2 capture equipment, transportation infrastructure, injection wells, and related equipment) are in southeast Michigan which has a high propensity for disadvantaged communities.

Specific Activities & Duration:

The project concept involves the integration of multiple CCS components to ensure the development of a safe and long-term storage program. Site characterization and assessment will be conducted to validate the storage reservoir and confining system, including the drilling of a stratigraphic test well. Subsurface modeling will be conducted to simulate injection scenarios and evaluate the effectiveness of the storage zone and integrity of the confining system to develop a storage concept design. Risk assessments will be conducted to identify surface, subsurface, and non-technical risks for a CCS project, along with mitigation plans to reduce risks. A monitoring plan will be developed to monitor the capture, transportation, and storage of CO2 to reduce leakage risks. Results of technical and non-technical evaluations will be used to draft a Class VI permit to prepare for further program development. Additionally, a techno-economic assessment will be conducted to understand the economics, land and pore space use, and regulatory and policy status. Throughout the span of the project, community dynamics, benefits, and outreach will take a high priority. This includes community characterization, evaluation of environmental justice issues and communities impacted, economic revitalization and jobs analysis, and technical and non-technical outreach.

Some further specifics on activities to be performed as part of the project include the following:

- A comprehensive Energy and Environmental Justice Assessment to cover direct impacts, indirect impacts, and cumulative impacts from the project. As part of this assessment, the socioeconomic and environmental benefits and detriments identified will be quantified and tracked and qualified with other metrics.

- Widespread community engagement and outreach is vital to the success of this project and that begins by understanding the history of the communities impacted by this project. We will conduct boots-on-the-ground research to gain insight into of community opinions on a variety of related topics. This research will be conducted through informational interviews with community leaders (civic, elected, religious, social, business, etc.), media reviews, and discussions with organizations that serve disadvantaged communities and local historians.

Integrative Approach:

Determining the feasibility of a commercial carbon capture and sequestration hub will require the integration and coordination of numerous functional teams that include engineers, geologists, outreach coordinators, business developers, environmental strategists, labor relation specialists, and DEI strategists.