About us

The Subsurface Evaluation of CCS and Unconventional Risks (SECURe) project will gather scientific evidence relating to monitoring the environment and mitigating risk in order to guide subsurface geoenergy development.

The three-year project will produce a set of best-practice recommendations for establishing environmental baseline conditions for unconventional hydrocarbon production and the geological storage of anthropogenic CO2, including outputs addressing how to develop effective communications strategies with different stakeholder groups. The two technologies have different applications and end results whilst sharing some similarities in approach, which necessitate safe and monitored deployment.

Our research partners will develop monitoring and mitigation strategies for the full geoenergy project lifecycle, carrying out experimental research and innovative technology development that will be demonstrated at research and commercial facilities. We will also develop communication and community engagement strategies to provide a greater level of understanding of both subsurface technologies.

Collaboration with leading groups in the USA, Canada and Australia will be a key part of the project. The final results will be of relevance and use to a variety of stakeholders, from project operators and regulators to policymakers and the wider public.

The SECURe partnership includes major research and commercial organisations from seven European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland and the UK), who will share results from the project more widely.

SECURe will provide a legacy of:

  • a network of experimental and industrial field sites as a proving ground for cutting-edge technologies and to enable knowledge transfer between sectors
  • a platform for international cooperation
  • a scientifically sound, unbiased and independent best practice for baselining, monitoring, mitigation and remediation within a risk-assessment framework
  • models and best-practice guidelines for engaging different stakeholders including citizens through participatory monitoring
  • a formal, continuous training programme for researchers and students

The project, which is funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 764531), runs from June 2018 until May 2021.

Although the UK has now left the EU and has entered the transition period, which will continue until 31 December 2020, the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement ensure that the UK remains a full participating country for the remainder of Horizon 2020 (H2020). All successful projects are funded for their entire duration.

Management team

Our partners

Adam Mickiewicz University logo
Bureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres logo
Erasmus Research & Business Support logo
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland logo
GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences logo
Heriot-Watt University logo
IFP Energies nouvelles logo
Polish Geological Institute logo
Polish Oil and Gas Institute – National Research Institute logo
Risktec Solutions Limited logo
SINTEF AS logo
TNO logo
Total SA logo
The University of Edinburgh logo
The University of Nottingham logo