ThermoPhys, a startup founded by researchers from SINTEF and NTNU in 2024, is on a mission to make CO2 safety assessments more accurate and accessible.
With deep roots in academia and over a decade of research experience, the company aims to translate complex scientific models into intuitive tools for the carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry.
The company completed its first pilot project in February 2025, supported by CLIMIT-Demo, and is now preparing a larger-scale initiative in collaboration with software developers and industry users. ThermoPhys currently has a team of three and plans to grow as demand increases.
“We were frustrated that decades of research on CO2 and hydrogen were scattered and inaccessible to the industry,” said co-founder Øivind Wilhelmsen.
While advanced modeling code from SINTEF and NTNU is publicly available on GitHub, it lacks interfaces and user support. ThermoPhys aims to bridge this gap by creating software that makes this knowledge usable in real-world operations.
Understanding the behavior of CO2 under varying pressures and temperatures — such as the risk of forming acids, dry ice, or hydrates — is essential for safe CCS deployment. ThermoPhys hopes its tools can help operators answer these critical questions, improving safety and reducing costs across the CO2 value chain.
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Built on open-source scientific code, ThermoPhys’s platform transforms complex models into clear, visual interfaces. The goal is to help both technical teams and decision-makers make informed choices with greater confidence.
ThermoPhys is also partnering with other innovators in the digital CCS space. A key collaboration with Oliasoft will integrate ThermoPhys’s models into well injection software, extending its reach across the CCS workflow.
A dedicated cloud platform is also in development to support scalable, user-friendly access to its tools.
With practical software rooted in research, ThermoPhys is set to become a vital player in making CCS safer, smarter, and more efficient.
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