Total is stepping up its research into carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies by signing a multiyear partnership with UK startup Cambridge Quantum Computing (CQC). This partnership aims to develop new quantum algorithms to improve materials for CO2 capture.
To improve the capture of CO2, Total is working on nanoporous materials called adsorbents, considered to be among the most promising solutions. These materials could eventually be used to trap the CO2 emitted by industrial operations. The CO2 recovered would then be concentrated and reused or stored permanently. These materials could also be used to capture CO2 directly from the air.
The quantum algorithms that will be developed in the collaboration between Total and CQC will simulate all the physical and chemical mechanisms in these adsorbents as a function of their size, shape, and chemical composition and, therefore, make it possible to select the most efficient materials to develop. Currently, such simulations are impossible to perform with a conventional supercomputer, which justifies the use of quantum calculations.
“Quantum computing opens up new possibilities for solving extremely complex problems," said Marie-Noëlle Semeria, Total's chief technology officer.