GSB-RBINS

Geographic scope: nacional

Geological Survey of Belgium-Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences

The Geological Survey of Belgium (GSB), department of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), is a geo-scientific documentation centre and is a central player in national and international research and development projects.

The GeoEnergy group of the Geological Survey of Belgium originated with the exploration campaigns for coal in the Flanders and the Walloon region. The expertise was extended with projects including exploration for hydrocarbons, geothermal energy, heat-cold storage, subsoil gasification of coal, storage of natural gas and reutilizing mining infrastructure.

From 2000 on, research is performed on the possibilities of geological storage of CO2 for national and international projects. This includes coordination of the PSS-CCS projects (Policy Support System for Carbon Capture and Storage; Piessens et al., 2009; Piessens et al., 2012), which were the national umbrella projects on CCS in Belgium, and participation in several other international CCS related projects.

The GSB is member of the CO2GeoNet network of excellence, the European Technology Platform for Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants, the EuroGeoSurveys expert group on CO2 geological storage, and the European

Federation on Geologists expert panel on geological storage of CO2.