A day in the life of a CCUS ZEN researcher: Q&A with Alla Šogenova

Alla Šogenova

Alla Šogenova is a Senior Researcher at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) and Director for Research at the SHOGenergy company. 

Born in Leningrad (USSR), Alla was educated at the Leningrad Mining Institute (now St. Petersburg University) as Mining Engineer Geophysicist. She did her PhD studies in Geology and Mineralogy at the Estonian Academy of Sciences, and at St. Petersburg University; and made a Post Doctoral Research at the Free University of Berlin.

In her career, Alla has cooperated with colleagues all over Europe and beyond. She is Board Member of the BASRECCS (Baltic CCS Network) and works very closely with Ukrainian colleagues on various projects. In the CCUS ZEN project, she is leading Work Package 3 (CCUS value chain scenarios), and participates in all other WPs.

How did you become involved in CCUS?

In 2006, I took part in two celebrated projects organised by the ENeRG network and funded by EC FP6 – EU GeoCapacity and CO2NetEast. EU GeoCapacity was coordinated by GEUS, and in CO2NetEast several eastern partners, coordinated by the Czech Geological Survey, cooperated with Statoil. Soon after, I was invited to be a member of Scientific Advisory Board of CO2GeoNet Network of Excellence and later became a representative of TalTech in the CO2GeoNet Association. I was a President of the ENeRG network (networking partner of CCUS ZEN) in 2007 and 2022. I also participated in the renowned projects CO2Stop and CGS Europe, organised by CO2GeoNet and funded by EC FP7. Encouraged by our dissemination activities in the CGS Europe project, I started teaching a CO2 Geological Storage course at TalTech (2011). In 2013, I was a visiting Professor at the Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw. I have also supervised Masters and PhD students in CCS and was one of the Professors teaching the International Master Course on CO2Geological Storage at the Sapienza University of Rome and Zagreb University (2021, 2023, 2025). I also have to mention the CLEANKER project, where I was leading the WP on CO2 transport, use and storage on behalf of TalTech (2017-2023).

Can you share any highlights from the CCUS ZEN project so far?

CCUS ZEN has collected huge and unique databases, including technical and non-technical data, covering the full CCUS value chain and integrated into GIS. The project proposed new full CCUS value chain scenarios for the Baltic and Mediterranean regions — most of them cross-boundary, including up to three countries, up to 8 storage sites, and tens of CO2 emitters. The project is proposing new CCUS PCI projects analysing the most important stakeholders and project advantages. We are also developing frameworks and new methodologies for CCUS value chain selection and prioritisation.

What challenges have you faced in the project, and how have you overcome them?

The most challenging aspect is the ambitious project proposal from the partners. This conflicts with the limited time and financial resources of the project. As a result, many deliverables require a lot of work and are, therefore, delivered later than planned. 

Some challenges relate to the complexity of the value chains we are developing and the absence of CCUS clusters and hubs operating in Europe. Also, new European regulations and acts are appearing during our work, which influence our decisions and scenarios. Fortunately, we have professional lawyers and much-needed experts among the partners.

What does a ‘typical’ day as a Senior Researcher at TalTech involve?

The typical day includes, on average, two online project meetings, workshops and/or webinars, and work on project tasks and deliverables. Additionally, we are writing abstracts for conferences and articles for journals. Some time is always taken for reporting of results, presentations and dissemination activities, including periods of preparing and teaching lectures and new courses in CCUS and low-carbon technologies (to students and/or industrial stakeholders). We are often spending our time preparing new project proposals.

In your opinion, what is the outlook for CCUS?

The speeding up of developments in CCUS activities and projects in Europe and beyond during last several years gives us an optimistic view for the wide implementation of CCUS technologies. This is also supported by new and updated regulations in Europe and some other countries. 

We hope to get support for this outlook during the GHGT-17 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on 20-24 October 2024, where a number of CCUS ZEN partners are planning to go with oral and poster presentations to share CCUS ZEN results and to keep up-to-date with the most exciting technological developments from Alberta (the owner of the CO2 pipeline with the largest capacity in the world) and from all parts of the world.