Understanding Natech Accident Scenarios at Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Plants

Natural hazards hold the potential to impact technological infrastructure, triggering multiple disasters and exposing both the population and the environment at risk. The continuous rise in carbon emissions from anthropogenic activities has led to an escalating climate change crisis, contributing to increased frequency and severity of Natech (Natural Hazard-Triggered Technological Disasters) scenarios. These scenarios pose significant threats to critical infrastructure, including Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) plants. CCS serves as a crucial short-term decarbonization solution able to combact global warming. However, climate change-related extreme weather events may cause Natech scenarios in CCS facilities, compromising equipment integrity and releasing stored carbon dioxide (CO2) and other substances. This exacerbates global warming, contaminates flood waters, or induces fire. The intricate link between climate change, Natech events, and resilient CCS infrastructure underscores the importance of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Given the lack of literature regarding Natech scenarios affecting CCS plants, this paper investigates the CCS value chain with the objective of identifying vulnerable components to potential natural events. An inherent safety approach is applied to assess how risk increases considering natural events as potential causes of equipment failure. This study on Natech risks in CCS plants aims to enhance environmental protection, secure critical infrastructure, and foster a resilient, sustainable future.