TADI: A test center with international reach in Lacq

The TADI (TotalEnergies Anomalies Detection Initiatives) site, located at the PERL in Lacq, is used to test and qualify innovative gas leak detection and quantification technologies.

 
"TADI is a crucial facility that bridges the gap between laboratory tests and on-site deployment for gas detection, and quantification of atmospheric emissions. It is also home to an entire robotic ecosystem to support the development of remote operations".

Xavier Marcarian,
Head of the R&D Gas Separation and Treatment Service at the PERL

TADI, a world-renowned infrastructure

The TADI site was gradually installed as from 2015, at the heart of an industrial SEVESO 3 site, almost the only one of its kind in Europe. It serves to test, perfect and qualify gas leak detection technologies, to ensure safety for personnel and facilities. It was gradually adapted to measuring greenhouse gas emissions, like CO₂ and methane. TADI is now also a playground for robots, to test remote operations designs. The equipment it comprises came from the dismantled facilities of the former gas production plant (TEPF), such as pipes, valves, columns, wellheads, flares and so on, which makes it a realistic, modular industrial theater! On TADI, a wide range of gas leak scenarios based on feedback from the field, can be reproduced in a controlled environment.

In 2022, TADI ran over 400 tests. The site is a world-renowned test center, fully backed by the European Commission and the US Department of Energy. The signature of a partnership with Colorado State University and its METEC program in the United States in April 2023, further boosted TADI’s global profile. The aim of the partnership is to improve and standardize international test protocols for gas emissions detection and quantification technologies, to obtain reliable data comparable on a global scale.

"R&D at TotalEnergies develops innovative solution to keep safety at the best possible level, such as tools to model fire or explosion phenomena to understand and therefore prevent them more effectively, gas detection technologies including machine learning and artificial intelligence, and so on. By using digital technologies as an innovative tool, data on safety risks can also be obtained faster while ensuring data reliability".

Laetitia Urfels,
R&D Safety Lead

STORM, a decision-making application developed on TADI

STORM (Safety Tool for Operators and Remote Monitoring) is an on-site decision-making tool. Its objective is to step up the safety of personnel and facilities and prevent major accidents, particularly those that might cause flammable gas leaks. The application is capable of cross-referencing relevant data from different sources, including new-generation detectors, and generating concise information that can be directly used by the operator. The architecture of the application make it possible to access data locally – in the control room and the Smartroom – and in the cloud.

By concentrating the information in a single tool instead of having several programs and screens and by presenting it in a user-friendly, understandable way, the STORM application makes decision-making faster and reduces the operator’s mental workload. It will also be possible to use STORM in a crisis management situation.