Solvent-based carbon capture is making major strides—and the AURORA project is at the forefront. With CaptureMap as a digital ally, researchers and industry are gaining insight into the future of large-scale, low-cost CO₂ capture, particularly within a research context.
Contents
Introduction: A New Era for Industrial Carbon Capture
Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) has emerged as a cornerstone in Europe’s pathway to net zero. However, widespread deployment remains a challenge, particularly for CO₂-intensive industries such as cement, refining, and materials recycling.
The EU-funded AURORA project is helping change that by optimising and scaling up the open-source CESAR1 solvent capture technology. AURORA aims to make CCUS more cost-effective, more sustainable, and more deployable. Research and innovation do not happen in isolation, and tools like CaptureMap, Endrava’s CCUS market intelligence platform, play a role in connecting the dots across CCUS value chains.
In this article, we explore how CaptureMap is being used by AURORA participants to enhance site selection, regional analysis, and value chain integration, highlighting why such digital tools for CCUS are important for research projects aiming for real-world impact.
What Is the AURORA Project on Solvent-Based Carbon Capture?
AURORA (Accelerated deployment of integrated CCUS value chains based on solvent capture technology) is a Horizon Europe-funded project focused on optimizing and demonstrating a non-proprietary solvent system: CESAR1. This technology builds on the familiarity of monoethanolamine (MEA)-based systems while significantly improving key performance metrics.
AURORA aims to offer a complete, validated system (technological maturity level TRL8) that can be easily exploited by the stakeholders concerned. Key advancements of the CESAR1 technology include:
- Achieving 98% capture rates.
- Providing 47% lower costs compared to MEA-based benchmarks.
- Ensuring negligible environmental impact through advanced emission control.
Innovations in the AURORA-project are being demonstrated through pilot plants and field trials in several European regions to de-risk commercial adoption. AURORA also focuses on specific technological advancements related to the CESAR1 solvent and CCUS chains, including studies on thermodynamic properties, CO2 chemical absorption modelling, reboiler duties, aerosol emissions management, solvent degradation, viscosity and density data, and achieving ultra-high capture rates.
Challenges in CCUS Research & Site Context
While the technical promise of CESAR1 is significant, the feasibility of CCUS projects also depends heavily on location-specific factors. For researchers, this means answering complex, data-heavy questions such as:
- Are there large, steady emitters nearby?
- What kind of flue gases can be expected at these sites?
- Are there capture projects in progress nearby for synergies of scale?
- What are the transport and storage options available?
This is where CaptureMap provides critical support for research.
CaptureMap: A Digital Compass for CCUS Value Chains
CaptureMap is a map-based software platform that helps researchers, engineers, and business developers explore CCUS opportunities across the world. It brings together cleaned, harmonized datasets into one intuitive interface, including CO₂ emission sources and carbon capture project sites. This makes CaptureMap an ideal tool for early-stage screening of capture opportunities and CCUS value chains, which is especially useful in research projects like AURORA that span multiple sectors and regions.
How CaptureMap Supports the AURORA Project in a Research Context
Participants in AURORA, including the University of Cambridge, are using CaptureMap to complement their technical research on solvent-based carbon capture with real-world spatial intelligence.
- Identifying Clusters of Opportunity: The AURORA team evaluates sites in multiple European regions. CaptureMap provides an instant overview of which industries cluster are where, and how different emitters compare by size, type, and proximity to transport options or storage basins. This enables a faster and more strategic assessment of which sites are most promising for further demonstration or scale-up. Researchers used CaptureMap to visualise industrial clusters and their CO₂ footprints, which helped prioritise regional analyses.
- Contextualising Pilot Sites: For each demonstration site, it’s critical to understand the local context. CaptureMap gives researchers a shared frame of reference for questions like whether other emitters nearby could form part of a larger CCUS hub, if infrastructure is in place to transport CO₂ to a storage site or offtaker, or if regional policy frameworks are in place. This helps frame site-specific findings within a broader network.
- Improving Communication Across Partners: AURORA involves many stakeholders—academia, industrial partners, and policymakers—spread across Europe. By using a common visual and data-driven tool like CaptureMap, the project fosters better collaboration and shared understanding.
A Research Associate at AURORA in Cambridge University told us, “CaptureMap provides me with comprehensive and up-to-date information on CCUS projects. Compared with the databases I compiled from other sources, it is more current and contains a greater amount of information. It has been very helpful for both my projects and academic research.”
What Sets CaptureMap Apart for Research?
In many research projects, regional assessment involves stitching together scattered datasets, GIS layers, and Excel files, which is time-consuming and error-prone. CaptureMap addresses this with:
- Real-time filtering and comparison tools.
- Interactive maps that are easy to present in meetings and reports.
- Up-to-date emissions data across thousands of industrial sites.
- Project tracking to monitor CCUS initiatives
This combination of usability and depth makes it not only a tool for academic research, but also for industry engagement and policy dialogue.
Looking Ahead: Digital Tools for Scalable Climate Solutions
As CCUS technologies mature, so must the digital ecosystems that support them. Projects like AURORA are pushing boundaries in solvent-based carbon capture —not just in chemistry and engineering, but in how we assess, compare, and communicate climate solutions at scale.
CaptureMap plays a supporting but strategic role in that journey. By offering a dynamic, data-rich perspective on industrial emissions and regional value chains, it helps ensure that technology innovation is paired with deployment insight. For researchers, it means smarter decisions. For policymakers, clearer signals. And for society, a faster path to real climate impact.
FAQ
Q: What is solvent-based carbon capture?
A: Solvent-based carbon capture uses liquid solvents to absorb CO₂ from industrial flue gases, and is one of the most mature CCUS technologies.
Q: Why is solvent-based carbon capture important for industrial decarbonization?
A: Solvent-based carbon capture is one of the most proven methods to remove CO₂ from flue gases in industries like cement, steel, and refining. It can achieve very high capture rates and is being optimized through projects like AURORA to reduce costs and environmental impact.
Q: How can digital tools like CaptureMap accelerate solvent-based carbon capture research?
A: Digital tools such as CaptureMap provide researchers with accurate, comprehensive data on CO₂ emissions, industrial clusters, and carbon capture projects. This helps identify the best sites, integrate CCUS value chains, and improve collaboration across large-scale solvent-based carbon capture research projects.
Q:How does CaptureMap support solvent-based carbon capture research?
A: CaptureMap helps researchers identify industrial clusters and high-potential sites for solvent-based carbon capture, contextualize pilot locations with transport and storage options, and make faster, smarter site selections. It boosts collaboration across partners through a shared, visual platform, reduces errors by replacing scattered datasets, and provides up-to-date CO₂ emissions and project data. By bridging academic research with industry engagement, CaptureMap ensures that solvent-based carbon capture projects are not only well-informed but also positioned for real-world impact.
