An integrated GIS-MARKAL toolbox for designing a CO2 infrastructure network in the Netherlands

Large-scale implementation of carbon capture and storage needs a whole new infrastructure to transport and store CO2. Tools that can support planning and designing of such infrastructure require incorporation of both temporal and spatial aspects. Therefore, a toolbox that integrates ArcGIS, a geographical information system with elaborate spatial and routing functions, and MARKAL, an energy bottom-up model based on linear opt imization has been developed. Application of this toolbox for devising blueprint s of a CO2 infrastructure in the Netherlands, shows that early knowledge on the availability, potential, and suitability of sinks is of major importance for a cost-effective design of the infrastructure.