Taking dangerous greenhouse gasses and injecting them into the ground could be the key to reducing global warming.

Western Australia is at the forefront of research into the process, known as geosequestration, and Curtin University is playing a vital role.

Last week the university was awarded a $1.4 million grant to independently assess the injection capacity of carbon dioxide at selected sites, to assist local communities, industry and Government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Funded by the Australian National Low Emissions Coal research and development program, and led by the dead of Curtin’s Department of Petroleum Engineering Professor Brian Evans, the two-year study will test eight cores from a range of potential CO2 geosequestration storage sites to determine how suitable they are for injectivity.

Professor Evans said the research would help to provide a new level of CO2 injectivity and storage confidence in Australia.