The European Commission has backed carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a one of the seven key technologies enabling a deep decarbonisation of Europe\u2019s economy by mid-century. But it\u2019s still tangled in bureaucracy when it comes to funding procedures.<\/p>\n
Miguel Arias Ca\u00f1ete, the EU commissioner for energy and climate action, gave CCS a shot in the arm when he spoke at the 4th\u00a0EU-Norway energy conference in Brussels yesterday (4 February).<\/p>\n
\u201cCCS is expected to play a vital role in delivering a net-zero emission economy\u201d by 2050, the Spanish commissioner said. \u201cThis is why CCS is one of the seven building blocks\u201d of the Commission\u2019s long-term strategy for energy and climate change, he added.<\/p>\n
Presented in November last year, just before the UN\u2019s annual climate summit in Katowice, the long-term strategy indeed listed CCS among the seven key technologies that will enable Europe to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.<\/p>\n
Despite the rise of cheap wind and solar power, CCS will retain \u201can important role in power generation,\u201d as back-up for variable renewable power or in cases where fossil-fuel based electricity still needs to be produced because of lack of alternative options, Ca\u00f1ete explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven more importantly, CCS has a crucial role to close the circle for energy-intensive industries where other alternatives to reduce emissions do not exist,\u201d the Commissioner said, citing cement as an example.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoreover, if combined with renewable biomass, it could create negative emissions,\u201d he added, saying this could compensate for CO2 emissions in other sectors of the economy.
\nScientists inject new sense of urgency into CCS
\nEurope \u2013 and the warming planet \u2013 has lost precious time in developing carbon capture and storage (CCS), a fledgling technology seen as crucial to decarbonise heavy industry, warned scientists in a new report presented in Brussels last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must make sure that all low-carbon technologies, including CCS, are further developed and become more widely available in the European Union and globally. Otherwise, we\u2019ll reduce our options for the future,\u201d the Spanish commissioner warned, adding: \u201cWe need to continue support research and large-scale demonstration projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norway could be among the first to receive EU funding in support of CCS. For months, Oslo has lobbied the European Commission to get financial support for its latest project, which involves building a permanent infrastructure off the Norwegian coast to transport and store CO2 offshore, in depleted oil and gas fields.
\nNorway\u2019s latest CCS revival attempt meets lukewarm EU response
\nThe European Commission has given only cautious backing to a project led by Norway that would see carbon dioxide emissions captured at source from industrial installations and shipped offshore to depleting oil and gas fields where they would be buried more than 1,000 metres underground.<\/p>\n
The main novelty of the Northern Lights project is that the CO2 collected from industrial facilities would be transported to the storage location by boat instead of pipeline, bringing the costs down considerably.<\/p>\n
A cement factory in Southern Norway and a waste incineration plant in Oslo are actively preparing to be the first industrial facilities to benefit from the new infrastructure once it is built.<\/p>\n
But crucially, the infrastructure is meant to be scaleable and open to hundreds more industrial sites around Europe, which could join at any moment and ship their CO2 to Norway by boat \u2013 a bit like a garbage truck does for household waste.
\nWorld\u2019s first zero-emission cement plant takes shape in Norway
\nNorway is getting closer to building the world\u2019s first carbon-free cement plant, a move that could reverberate across the globe as 197 countries meet for the UN\u2019s annual climate conference in Katowice, Poland.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot an easy subject,\u201d Commission says<\/p>\n
However, the Commission is hesitant to provide funding for CCS, referring to failed past experiences and the long decision-making timeframe when it comes to making the funds available.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not an easy subject,\u201d admitted Haitze Siemers, a senior official in charge of new energy technologies at the European Commission\u2019s energy directorate, listing the main difficulties of CCS \u2013 \u201cpublic resistance, high costs, and relatively low private investments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Siemers also cited \u201cthe hangover from the first wave of carbon capture projects between 2009 and 2011\u201d where the Commission burnt its fingers pouring millions of euros of funding into CCS projects that never got off the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019ve got our work cut out for us, I think,\u201d Siemers said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s a complicated story,\u201d he added, saying \u201cit can take decades or more\u201d to get these technologies deployed on a commercial scale. \u201cThe issue is therefore how we can accelerate,\u201d he said, adding \u201cit takes time and investment\u201d.<\/p>\n
EU officials said hesitations on funding were also related to the bloc\u2019s budget decision-making process. \u201cIt relates to the timing of the innovation fund\u201d appended to the EU\u2019s emissions trading system for CO2, explained Megan Richards, director for energy policy at the European Commission.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0innovation fund will indeed only start accepting calls for proposals in late 2020, after the EU\u2019s new long-term budget for 2021-2027 is approved. And the decision-making processes cannot be accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where we are right now. We can\u2019t go any further than that,\u201d added Siemers, when pressed by EURACTIV to elaborate on the reason for the EU\u2019s indecision. \u201cWe\u2019re in the middle of inter-institutional negotiations on the next multi-annual financial framework. We have to give that a little bit of time to come down to earth and see what the outcomes are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doubts about the technology<\/p>\n
The EU\u2019s hesitations on CCS are also related to lingering doubts about the technology itself.<\/p>\n
In its long-term strategy, the Commission made clear that CCS should be seen as a fall-back option to \u201ctackle remaining CO2 emissions\u201d after all other options are exhausted.<\/p>\n
Even worse for CCS fans, the Commission spoke of the technology in the past tense, saying: \u201cCarbon Capture and Storage (CCS) was previously seen as a major decarbonisation option for the power sector and energy intensive industries. Today this potential appears lower, considering the rapid deployment of renewable energy technologies, other options to reduce emissions in industrial sectors and issues concerning social acceptance of the technology itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he spoke at the 4th\u00a0EU-Norway energy conference, Ca\u00f1ete put it slightly differently, suggesting CCS should be seen as a last resort solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cCCS is necessary to address emissions that cannot be addressed via other means,\u201d the Spanish EU commissioner told delegates at the conference. \u201cEven more important, we need to develop viable business models,\u201d Ca\u00f1ete continued, saying he was looking with interest at the utilisation of carbon dioxide in areas like plastics manufacturing.
\nUK-backed report identifies \u2018viable business models\u2019 for carbon capture technology
\nCarbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) offers \u201cone of the greatest industrial opportunities\u201d for Britain as the world pivots to a low-carbon economy, said Claire Perry, the UK\u2019s Energy and Clean Growth Minister.<\/p>\n
He also challenged oil and gas companies to provide more support for CCS than they are currently doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cOil and gas companies are often seen as being close to the source of the climate change problem. However, if thanks to their engagement, CCS becomes a proven and financially viable solution, they could become part of the solution,\u201d Ca\u00f1ete said.<\/p>\n
Final stages of preparation<\/p>\n
The European Commission is now \u201cin the final stages\u201d of preparing the ETS innovation fund, he continued, saying the fund \u201cwill offer an opportunity to fund big demonstration projects\u201d and breakthrough low-carbon technologies such as CCS.\u201d<\/p>\n
Project holders can start submitting applications already in the first quarter of 2020, he indicated. For sure, Norway\u2019s Northern Lights project will be among the first in line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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