CCS Future Program: For Researchers
CO2CRC Future Program 2026-35Advance world-class CCS science with real-world impact
For decades, groundbreaking Geological Carbon Storage (GCS) research has been limited by two critical barriers: a scarcity of large-scale funding and a lack of access to real-world, industrial-scale field data. Without a clear pathway to validate models and test new technologies in a live, deep-underground environment, even the best ideas remain theoretical.
The CO2CRC Future Program 2026-35 is a 10-year, industry-aligned initiative designed to solve this problem. We are rebooting Australia’s national CCS research capability by uniting the nation’s (and the world’s) best researchers to tackle the eight core themes of GCS. This program provides the funding, infrastructure, and industry partnerships to move your research from the lab to the field and create tangible, real-world impact.
Your unparalleled research asset: The Otway International Test Centre (OITC)
Our value proposition to you is simple: access to what no one else in the world can offer. The OITC is not a simulation; it is a globally unique, industrial-scale deep subsurface laboratory representing a A$200 million+ investment in national research infrastructure.
Its true competitive edge—and where this investment is captured—lies in its invaluable, real-world dataset. This is arguably the world’s best dataset for GCS technology improvement.
This resource, gathered over two decades of continuous field operations, provides you with an unparalleled, immediately accessible, and approvals-ready platform. It allows you to validate your models, digital twins, and new technologies against real-world system response data: an evidence base that would otherwise take decades and significant capital investment to replicate.
A partnership built for high-impact research
Joining this collaboration provides a direct and tangible return to your institution, your research team, and our nation’s next generation.
Secure research funding
Participate in high impact, applied research programs designed to accelerate CCS innovation, with opportunities to co-invest and secure additional funding from other partners.
Co-design with global industry leaders
Don’t just join a network—help lead it. This program gives you a direct line to industry. You will collaborate with and co-design solutions for leading energy companies, ensuring your research is commercially relevant, impact-driven, and focused on solving real-world deployment challenges.
Publish world-class, field-validated science
Access to this unique, full-lifecycle dataset provides unparalleled opportunities for high-impact, globally significant publications. Move your research from theoretical modelling to field-validated evidence in geomechanics, geophysics, AI, basin-scale modelling, and more.
Train the next generation of CCS experts
This program is designed to rebuild Australia’s postgraduate training pipeline. It provides a unique opportunity to secure long-term funding and world-class, industry-embedded projects for your PhD and Postdoctoral researchers, making your institution a global hub for GCS talent.
Your pathway to partnership
Australian universities, CRCs, Australia researcher organisations and research consortia with strengths in geoscience, geophysics (including marine), reservoir engineering, geomechanics, geochemistry, monitoring & verification (pressure/strain/gravity/fibre-optic), AI/ML, techno-economics, and education/training. Cross-disciplinary teams are encouraged. International research organisation are also encouraged to seek collaboration.
How to engage
1. Initial engagement
Reach out to CO2CRC to discuss your institution’s unique capabilities and strategic research interests.
2. Scope your contribution
We will work with you to identify your primary theme fit and help you prepare a 1-2 page concept note (outlining objectives, methods, and data/field requirements).
3. Formalise your support
We will assist your research office in providing a formal Letter of Support and Partner Contribution Form (detailing cash and in-kind commitments) for our pre-budget submission.
4. Co-design the R&D
Join our theme workshops to co-design the detailed R&D plan with CO2CRC’s theme leads and our other national and international research partners.
5. Deliver national impact
Upon a successful funding outcome, you will execute your research, report on progress, and publish your world-class findings.
FAQs
How do we align a proposal to the eight themes?
Pick the primary theme by your core question (e.g., conformance = Theme 1; geomechanics = Theme 2; M&V = Theme 3) and name any secondary themes your work enables (e.g., AI from Theme 6 supporting Theme 3). Keep the problem statement crisp, the anticipated dataset/model output explicit, and the path to field relevance clear.
What makes a strong 1–2 page concept?
A clear objective, hypothesis, methods, expected outputs (models, algorithms, datasets, protocols), dependencies (data, sensors, samples), milestones, and the decision/use case your results will inform (e.g., closure criteria, monitoring design, hub planning, integrity standard).
What kinds of research questions fit Theme 1 (Assured Storage Performance)?
Conformance metrics and uncertainty reduction; post-closure behaviour; THMC model calibration; digital twin update logic; evidence thresholds for regulator confidence and closure decisions.
What belongs in Theme 2 (Geomechanical Modelling & Validation)?
Fault/fracture response and thresholds; pressure-rate envelopes; microseismic discriminants; coupling lab/field/forward models; operational decision rules tied to geomechanical indicators.
What’s in scope for Theme 3 (Effective M&V)?
Risk-proportionate designs; sensitivity/uncertainty budgets; multi-sensor integration (pressure/strain/gravity/fibre-optic/sonic); cost/performance comparisons; low-impact offshore options; QA/QC and verification workflows that regulators can adopt.
What does Theme 4 (Basin-Scale Modelling) seek?
Capacity and pressure-interaction mapping; cumulative-impact assessment for multi-project basins; screening frameworks; shared-infrastructure scenarios; pragmatic data standards for basin planning.
What are priorities for Theme 5 (Infrastructure Re-use & Well Integrity)?
Standards/playbooks for re-use decisions; long-term materials performance (casing/cement/seals) under CO₂ exposure; surveillance protocols; fitness-for-service and closure criteria that regulators can reference.
How does Theme 6 (AI-Enabled Storage Solutions) integrate with other themes?
AI is an enabler: anomaly detection in M&V (Theme 3), model-to-data conformance (Theme 1), geomechanical risk scoring (Theme 2), and decision support dashboards. Emphasis on transparent models, uncertainty quantification, and real-time utility.
What analyses fit Theme 7 (Techno-Economics & Realising Benefits)?
Cost/benefit for monitoring options; value of injectivity gains and pore-space utilisation; re-use economics; rollout cost curves; abatement metrics; investment-grade summaries linking technical choices to $/t outcomes and policy signals.
What does Theme 8 (Education, Training & Communication) look for?
Curricula, short courses, and centre-of-excellence modules spanning geoscience, geophysics, reservoir engineering, geomechanics, and M&V—plus training pipelines for HDRs/ECRs and practitioner-ready materials for regulators and industry.
Do projects need field access to be eligible?
No. Lab studies, numerical methods, and AI/analytics are the basis for this future research program, yet it is encouraged that it demonstrates a pathway to full scale application and that may be via field validation. Note, if field support is needed, it can be planned with the relevant theme, but will require additional funding.
What TRL range are you targeting?
Typically TRL 3–6 across the research themes, with pathways to TRL 5–7 where field validation is appropriate.
How are proposals reviewed?
Criteria include: relevance to theme goals; clarity of problem/use-case; credibility of methods; contribution to national capability; pathway to deployment/standardisation; and opportunities for cross-theme leverage (e.g., AI + M&V).
Can international research groups participate in themes?
Yes. International collaboration is encouraged where it strengthens scientific quality and comparability. Overseas teams should contact us to discuss participation settings.
Join the national collaboration
We are now seeking foundational research partners to join this national initiative. Your commitment is critical to our pre-budget submission and will secure your institution’s role in this once-in-a-generation research opportunity.
To start the conversation, contact us directly.
Email: futureprogram@co2crc.com.au
Phone: +61 3 8595 9600