From 12^th – 16^th of July I attended ECC10 in Antwerp, and for once, a conference didn't require a hotel far from home. Antwerp is in my own home country, so this one felt a bit different from the start: familiar streets, my own language on the signs, and a conference center sitting right next to the Antwerp Zoo. Arriving at the central station of Antwerp is an experience on its own, which I would recommend to everyone out there visiting Belgium.

Figure 1: Central station Antwerp

Two Posters, One Big Talk

I presented two posters at the conference:

“Pilot-scale (online) monitoring of CESAR1 solvent condition in a cement CO₂ capture plant”
“Assessment of CO₂ Quality Across Capture, Liquefaction, and Storage in a Cement CCS Pilot Plant”

The second one also earned me a full oral presentation slot, and not just any slot. I got to present in the Elisabeth Hall, the conference centre’s beautiful main theatre next to the zoo. Standing on that stage, in such an iconic hall, was a genuine privilege.

Figure 2: Presenting in the magical Elisabeth Hall

More Than Just Presenting

What struck me most about ECC10 was that it wasn't just about standing next to a poster explaining your data. It was just as much about the conversations happening around it, with industry representatives, researchers from other universities, and in the dedicated workshops for early career researchers.

I spoke with a lot of genuinely interesting people, some of whom I hope to turn into actual collaborations down the line. One highlight was talking with researchers from the University of Bucharest, who are doing a lot of work on CO₂ utilization. At DTU, we're always looking to strengthen ties with other universities, so this might just be the start of something longer term. Who knows.

The Bigger Realization

If there's one thing I took home from ECC10, it's this: the outside world still doesn't know that carbon capture is actually happening. Not in theory, not in a lab on a small scale, but on an industrial scale, today. Talking to people outside the field, I keep noticing how few of them realize that CO₂ capture, liquefaction, and storage are already operating at plants like the cement facility we work with. That gap between what's technically possible and what's publicly known bothers me, and it's something I want to help close going forward, whether through better outreach, clearer communication, or simply talking about it more, the way I'm doing right here.

Figure 3: Presenting our results on CO₂ impurities

Want the Full Story?

If you're curious about the technical details behind either poster, or the full oral presentation from the Elisabeth Hall, just reach out, the complete presentation is available on request and on the MISSION-CCS repository for anyone interested in digging deeper into the CESAR1 monitoring work or the CO₂ quality assessment across the capture-liquefaction-storage chain.