Norway’s waste-to-energy capture project features in IEA case study

01/06/2021

A set of case studies published by the IEA Bioenergy project on carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chains includes a review of Fortum Oslo Varme’s waste-to-energy project in Norway and its role in delivering “negative emissions” as part of the country’s climate action.

The study by NEWEST CCUS partner, Michael Becidan of SINTEF, is one of three publications profiling bioenergy with CCS and its potential for removing significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

The other two featured projects are Hofer’s initiative on biomass-based combined heat and power in Denmark and the UK’s Drax project, which produces bioelectricity.

Fortum Oslo Varme’s facility – Oslo’s largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions – aims to capture around 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year using post-combustion capture technology, and will reduce the city’s emissions by around 14%.

The CO2 captured at the plant will be transported by tank truck to Oslo harbour before being piped to a North Sea subsea reservoir for permanent storage. The transport and storage component, known as the Northern Lights project, is being developed by Equinor, Shell and Total and has the backing of the Norwegian government.

The first phase of Northern Lights will be completed in mid 2024 and will have the capacity to store up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

Fortum’s capture project, which is part-funded by the Norwegian government, also depends on financial support from the EU Innovation Fund. If a favourable decision is reached at the end of this year, the project could begin operations in 2026-2027.

The three case studies form part of the IEA’s Deployment of BECCS/CCU Value Chains project and are intended to provide insights for any companies, which are considering – or could become part of – value chains for the capture, transport and storage or use of biogenic CO2.

More information and links to the case studies can be found here.

 

Words: Indira Mann, SCCS

Photo: Fortum Corporation