DrNihal Darraj

My research focuses on CCS across the full value chain, combining subsurface science and engineering with policy, economics, finance and large-scale deployment. 

My research interests include:

• CCS and the energy requirements of AI and data centres, including the relationship between rapidly growing electricity demand, emissions management, firm low-carbon energy and carbon management infrastructure
• Multiphase flow, CO₂ transport and trapping mechanisms: Examining the behaviour and migration of CO₂ in porous media, including multiphase flow, capillary effects and the mechanisms controlling CO₂ trapping and plume evolution.
• Storage capacity, injectivity and containment: Assessing the capacity of geological formations to store CO₂, their ability to accept injection at commercially relevant rates, and the geological and engineering factors governing long-term containment and storage security.
• Large-scale CCS deployment, including the development of integrated CCS hubs, networks and shared infrastructure.
• Cost and economic assessment of CCS, including cost drivers and value creation across capture, transport and storage.
• CCS policy and regulatory frameworks, including policy design, market structures, permitting, liability and risk allocation
• Commercial models for CCS infrastructure, including shared transport and storage networks and mechanisms for allocating infrastructure and cross-chain risks
• CCS across the full value chain, encompassing CO₂ capture, conditioning, transport, geological storage and monitoring
• Commercial bankability of CCS projects, including revenue certainty, investment risk, project finance and conditions for financial close