Who we are
Operating since 2003, CO2CRC is a world leader in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) research.Vision
To be Australia’s leading source of decarbonisation technologies, globally recognised for generating innovative emission reduction solutions.
Mission
To equip members and clients to achieve their own emissions reduction targets by leveraging our unique research infrastructure, products, and expertise.
Values
Excellence | Integrity | Delivery
About us
Operating since 2003, CO2CRC is a world leader in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) research. We own and operate the Otway International Test Centre in Nirranda South, South-West Victoria, Australia.
Our investors and members recognise the strategic importance of CO2CRC systematically progressing the science and engineering of CCUS to ensure an efficient and safe deployment of the technology.
As an incorporated not-for-profit research organisation (company limited by guarantee), we are funded through government grants, membership fees and direct investments from industry and research bodies.
CO2CRC develops and trials next generation low-emission technologies in commercially relevant, first-of-a-kind demonstrations.
Its portfolio is developed together and in-line with industry and government priorities, which, combined with grant funding and the membership model, enables collaboration and financial efficiencies to trial the new low-emission technologies.
Applied Research
CO2CRC works with national and international discipline leaders, manages interdisciplinary and inter-institutional research projects, has well-established, decade-long relationships, strong international brand recognition, and an outstanding health and safety record.
The organisation has an internationally recognised track record of safely delivering complex demonstration projects within a well-established governance structure.
The Otway International Test Centre (OITC) is a globally unique research facility that, despite many efforts in several countries over the past two decades, has not been replicated elsewhere.
The OITC is a fully permitted site and allows research and technology demonstrations to be carried out faster than anywhere in the world.
CO2CRC Board
Martin Ferguson AM
Chairman
Mr Ferguson joined the Group as Chairman in September 2014, bringing decades of experience working with the resource sector from a government and private sector perspective.
Mr Ferguson served as the Member for Batman from 1996 to 2013 and held a variety of Shadow Ministerial portfolios including Resources and Energy.
Upon the Rudd Government’s election in December 2007, Mr Ferguson was appointed Minister for Resources and Energy, and Minister for Tourism, positions he held until March 2013.
During his time as Minister, he oversaw the largest ever investments in the oil and gas sector, and the rapid expansion of the mining sector. Post politics, Mr Ferguson has accepted a number of positions in the oil and gas industry, including Group Executive in Natural Resources at Seven Group Holdings, Non-Executive Director of the BG Board, and Chairman to the APPEA Advisory Board.
Dr Matthias Raab
Executive Director and CEO
Dr Raab commenced as CEO of CO2CRC on 1st August 2021 after holding the position of COO with the Company since 2015. During his time as COO, Dr Raab had strategic and operational responsibility for CO2CRC’s research facilities, research programs and the delivery of major research and infrastructure projects. Before his appointment as COO, he was CO2CRC’s Program Manager responsible for fifteen major carbon storage projects in Australia.
Dr Raab is committed to Australia’s energy transition as a leader in the global scientific, engineering, energy, and resources sectors. Passionate about finding innovative solutions to energy, climate and resource challenges, Dr Raab’s 25+ year international career has spanned academia, government, industry, and the not-for-profit sectors and involved collaborating with international leaders and experts in their fields.
Brian Kitney
Director
Mr Brian Kitney has over 30 years industry experience in oil and gas in Australia and Asia. He has held senior industry positions including Vice President Commercial at Osaka Gas Australia, having spent nine years in the company. As head of the Commercial team, based in Perth, his primary responsibilities included managing the company’s upstream investments in Australia and Papua New Guinea, as well as evaluating new investment opportunities.
Prior to joining Osaka Gas Australia, he held the position of Vice President Commodities at JPMorgan Securities Japan, based in Tokyo. Mr Kitney has also held senior positions at AGL, Apache Energy Ltd and Mitsui & Co (Australia) Ltd. He is currently a Director of Bass Strait Renewables and was previously a Director of a number of Osaka Gas subsidiaries.
Dr Denis Palermo
Director
Dr Palermo is the Managing Director of Eni Australia Limited and is responsible for Upstream Oil & Gas activities in Australia and Timor Leste. Eni is the operator of the Blacktip field, which provides domestic gas to the Northern Territory and Eastern Australia. With a strong commitment to growth, Eni Australia is actively pursuing increased production and new developments, including the proposed 11 Tcf Verus Gasfield in the Timor Sea. Notably, this large LNG project includes CO2 sequestration as a key element of sustainability integrated into its development concept.
Denis boasts over 20 years of extensive experience in the oil and gas industry, having worked with major international oil companies such as Shell and Eni, including the Norwegian independent spin-off Vår Energi. During his 15-year tenure at Eni, Denis has held key leadership roles, overseeing exploration portfolios and excelling in production, reservoir management, field development, and strategic planning. He began his career in technical subsurface positions, which provided him with a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry’s intricacies. Over time, he smoothly transitioned into diverse leadership roles, showcasing his ability to adapt and thrive in various challenging environments.
His vast experience has led him to spearhead significant projects across the globe, making impactful contributions in the United Kingdom, Norway, Italy, Mozambique, Ghana, Angola, Cyprus, among others.
Denis is a board member for 7 companies which are registered in UK, Netherlands, Australia and Timor Leste. In relation to operating companies he is the Managing Director of Eni Australia Limited, Eni Australia BV, Director of JPDA 06-105 Pty Ltd and Representative for Eni Timor Leste SpA. Additionally, he has been serving as a representative on the APPEA committee’s working group since 2022.
He holds a PhD in Sedimentology and Reservoir Modeling from the University of Tübingen, Germany, and has published several peer-reviewed scientific articles.
Dr Graham Winkelman
Director
Dr Winkelman is Head of Carbon Management at BHP, where he has been for over 9 years. His role covers setting BHP’s global emissions reduction targets across operations and the value chain, and aligning BHP’s internal systems and processes to support decarbonisation as a business-as usual activity. Dr Winkelman also manages an internal governance and reporting role to measure and communicate BHP’s progress against decarbonisation commitments. He engages with a range of stakeholders including policymakers and investors on BHP’s decarbonisation progress to date, BHP’s future opportunities and future challenges.
Dr Winkelman is Chair of the Board of the International Carbon Capture and Storage Knowledge Centre (Regina, Canada) and Chair of the Materials Stewardship Council at the International Copper Association. Dr Winkelman has a PhD in Materials Engineering from Monash University, and has been contributing to the resource sector’s response to climate change for 16 years in both direct and consulting roles.
Ernie Delfos
Director
Mr Delfos is an Independent Director with nearly 40 years experience in the energy industry. Up to mid 2023 he held the position of Managing Director at Eni Australia Limited, responsible for Upstream Oil & Gas and Renewable activity in Australia and Timor Leste since 2013. Mr Delfos’ career experience ranges from Government entities; Western Australia Mines Dept, small independents: Ampolex, Bond Oil, British Borneo, to major international oil companies; Mobil and Eni. He has been responsible for global exploration portfolios in addition to roles in production, planning, strategy and portfolio optimisation.
Mr Delfos has held multiple board positions of Eni subsidiaries in Australia, Timor Leste and Saudi Arabia, and is a director of Australian industry association AEP (formerly APPEA). Mr Delfos is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. His technical and managerial experience combined with board responsibilities allows him to contribute across the spectrum of the energy business covering compliance, economic/commercial stewardship and technical know-how.
Prof Claus Otto
Director
Dr Otto is an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University and a CCUS consultant with significant research and industry experience of the energy sector.
He was for 5 years professor and the inaugural director of the Institute for Energy Transition at Curtin University till 2023. The cross-faculty Institute brings together its interdisciplinary research, teaching and engagement to facilitate the net zero carbon energy transition, taking into account environmental, social and economic considerations. Before joining Curtin, he was the Technology Manager at Shell in the Netherlands and Australia for nine years, leading innovative upstream technology developments for its global operations, including CCUS projects.
Prior to Shell, Dr Otto worked for 15 years at CSIRO as a senior principal researcher and manager leading various research teams and programs.
Mark McCallum
Director
Mark is Chief Executive Officer of Low Emission Technology Australia. He is an experienced advocate and communicator on resources and energy issues. Prior to joining LETA he was Managing Director of a public relations and communications agency with clients in the resources and energy sectors. Previous roles also include an Executive at the Minerals Council of Australia, the Australian Head of Government Relations with Shell and the Deputy Chief Executive of APPEA — Australia’s peak oil and gas industry association. Mark has also held roles as a senior manager in resource industry representative bodies and as an advisor to the Federal Government. Mark is a non-Executive Director on a number of Boards currently including Australian National Low Emission Coal R&D Limited and the Coal Industry Advisory Board to the International Energy Agency. Mark has a Masters of Environmental Law (ANU), Bachelor of Science (ANU), and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Yvette Manolas
Director
Ms Manolas is a senior leader at Woodside with 20 years global experience spanning strategic and technical leadership roles and is currently the General Manager of Decarbonisation. She has been awarded numerous Australian awards. Non Executive Directorships include CO2CRC and Earth Science Australia. Other prior appointments include representation on the American Petroleum Institute (API) and IPIECA, and the Hellenic Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Experience includes (i) leading teams with hundreds of people, an annual revenue of multi-billions of dollars and budgets exceeding $300million, (ii) global technical engineering and climate expertise, including acting as a respected international advisor, (iii) strategic leadership including climate, social investment and sustainability portfolios, (iv) international standards setting committees, and (v) stakeholder management, safety, regulatory, operations, developments and project management expertise.
Ms Manolas has a successful track record in visionary leadership, project delivery, risk management, strategy development and implementation, governance, regulatory compliance and commercial decision making.
Lucia Lombardo
Director
Lucia is Head of Commercial for Shell’s interests in the North West Shelf and CCS Projects in Australia.
She brings 20+ years of Australian and international experience in the energy industry including business opportunity and project development, operations and governance and is Chair of the WA LNG Jobs Taskforce Emissions Reduction and Decarbonization Working Group. Lucia led the development of the LNG Jobs Taskforce Joint Government and Industry CCUS Hubs Study in collaboration with CSIRO and GCCSI. The study was released by the Premier of Western Australia in November 2023 and resulted in CCUS being included as a key pillar of the WA Government’s Future State Policy Framework and further Western Australian Government funding to support the CCS Pathways program.
Previously, Lucia was the Head of OI/Business Development for Shell’s IG business in WA and has held senior commercial, legal and compliance roles at Shell. Before joining Shell, Lucia was a Senior Associate at a leading international law firm where her energy practice focused on complex LNG, energy and infrastructure project development and governance, MA&D and long-term sales arrangements for energy products. Early in her career, Lucia worked for Chevron/WAPET and what is now the WA Premier’s Office. Lucia has a Bachelor of Laws from Murdoch University and studied Economics at the University of Western Australia. She has also completed postgraduate courses at the University of Melbourne and INSEAD.
Distinguished scientists
Professor Peter Cook
CO2CRC Distinguished Scientist
Peter is one of Australia’s foremost scientists and technology leaders in the areas of energy, greenhouse technology and sustainability. He is a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne, a company director, author, consultant and senior advisor to organisations and governments worldwide. His work on CCS with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), alongside Kelly Thambimuthu, made both contributors to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC, and prior to that in 2005, the adoption of CCS as a climate change mitigation technology under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Peter was CO2CRC’s chief executive from its inception until 2011.
Professor John Kaldi
CO2CRC Distinguished Scientist
John is CO2CRC’s former chief scientist as well as Emeritus Professor and SA State Chair of Carbon Capture and Storage at University of Adelaide. John’s career includes being the inaugural head of the Australian School of Petroleum (ASP) and earlier, Director of the National Centre for Petroleum Geology and Geophysics (NCPGG) at University of Adelaide. Prior to academia, John spent 18 years working in the petroleum industry. He has received numerous awards, is an accomplished lecturer and trainer and has been the author and presenter of over 150 journal articles and technical conference papers.
Professor Kelly Thambimuthu
CO2CRC Distinguished Scientist
Kelly has over thirty years’ experience in low-emissions technology. For over two decades he has chaired the IEAGHG, a technology collaboration program of the International Energy Agency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He pioneered advances in cleaner fossil fuel technologies while heading the Centre for Low Emissions Technology in Queensland from 2004 – 2009. Kelly has been a scientist and program director at CANMET Energy, Natural Resources Canada and professorial fellow at the University of Queensland and has received many awards for his work.