New Network members show breadth and benefits of CCS deployment

Four ambitious carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives to recently join the CCUS Projects Network illustrate the range of opportunities for tackling Europe’s emissions from industry and power generation.

In the second half of 2019, we welcomed two projects, which will deploy CCS technology on waste-to-energy plants, and two consortium approaches to advancing large-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) transport and storage networks for industry clusters.

In Switzerland, KVA Linth, is investigating the potential for carbon capture at its waste-to-energy plant, which currently produces around 120,000 tonnes of CO2 from the incineration of 11,5000 tonnes of waste annually. As 50% of this waste is biogenic, such as food or wood products, the application of CO2 capture would result in negative emissions, whereby the amount of CO2 already in the atmosphere is reduced.

Meanwhile, in Norway, the government has backed an initiative by Fortum Oslo Varme to apply capture technology at their waste-to-energy plant in Oslo. This will form part of a full-scale CCS development, which aims to transport CO2 offshore for geological storage deep below the North Sea. Access to large-scale CO2 transport and storage networks is fundamental to Europe’s efforts to decarbonise industry. Two projects in the Netherlands will focus on delivering these networks for industry clusters in the Amsterdam and Rotterdam areas.

The Athos Project - Amsterdam-IJmuiden CO2 Transport Hub & Offshore Storage - a consortium of EBN, Gasunie, Port of Amsterdam and Tata Steel, is working to develop a transport and storage network in the North Sea Canal area, which will enable the utilisation and storage of large volumes of CO2. The network will feature onshore transport pipelines, offshore storage facilities, and exit and feed-in points for companies either directly connected to the network or accessing it through other forms of CO2 transport. The project will provide the option of supplying CO2 to greenhouse horticulture and other utilisation opportunities, such as the creation of synthetic fuels.

Further south, the Rotterdam CCUS Consortium, which includes the Port of Rotterdam Authority, EBN and Gasunie, is developing a new project to capture CO2 generated by industry in Rotterdam’s port area and store it in a depleted offshore gas field. The Porthos Project – or Port of Rotterdam CO2 Transport Hub and Offshore Storage – would develop 30-33 kilometres of pipeline, which a variety of industries could access for CO2 disposal and even usage, if there was demand. However, most of the CO2 is expected to be liquefied and transported via pipeline for permanent storage. By 2030, the project partners expect to store between 2 million and 5 million tonnes of CO2 every year.

Find out more about these projects here, where you will also find links to each project’s website.

(Graphic by TATA STEEL, Port of Amsterdam, Gasunie, EBN)