The Hellisheidi area. Basaltic crystallized lava in the foreground covered with moss (Racomitrium lanuginosum) and behind mountains formed under glacier where the material is glassy but of basaltic composition.
The uniqueness of the CarbFix project is that whereas other projects store CO2 mainly in a gas form, where it could potentially leak back into the atmosphere, the current project seeks to store CO2 by creating carbonate minerals in the subsurface. Calcite, a major component of limestone, is a common and stable mineral in the Earth is known to persist for tens of millions of years or more.
A large group of efficient technicians at Reykjavik Energy take part in the preparation and installation work for the injection of the CO2
Careful monitoring of subsurface impact of injected CO2 gas is considered essential for the project’s success and validation.
When the CarbFix project was formally launched in September 2007, Iceland's President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson discussed the importance of research in climate change and how to fix global warming.
The universities have enrolled PhD students to work on science projects in the laboratory as well as in the field, closely linked to the CarbFix project.
Scientists from the University of Iceland, Columbia University, CNRS in Toulouse and Reykjavik Energy at the injection well in June 2008
Reykjavik Energy is harnessing geothermal energy at the Hengill geothermal area in SW-Iceland. The geothermal fields at Hellisheiði plant create a natural laboratory for the geological CO2 storage project.
A primary goal of the CarbFix project is to imitate the natural storage process of CO2 already observed in geothermal fields. The project’s implications for the fight against global warming may be considerable, since basaltic bedrock susceptive of CO2 injections are widely found on the planet.
Geothermal fields at Hellisheiði power plant create a natural laboratory for the research