Swedish energy utility Stockholm Exergi AB has inaugurated the country's first bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) pilot plant at its Värtan biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Stockholm. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was officiated on December 9, 2019, by the Minister for Energy Anders Ygeman."This initiative shows how Swedish industry takes their climate goals seriously," said Minister Ygeman during his address.
As the UN Climate Summit (COP25) in Madrid, Spain enters into its second week of negotiations, Stockholm Exergi has inaugurated its bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) pilot plant. BECCS is highlighted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as necessary to develop as part of the effort to achieve the 1.5 degree Celsius target.
Previously known as Fortum Värme AB, Stockholm Exergi is an energy utility that operates in the Swedish capital and is jointly owned by the City of Stockholm and Finland-headed energy major Fortum Oyj.
Last Friday we decided to close our last coal boiler after this winter and today we inaugurate the BECCS test facility. These are two events that clearly show that we as a company are serious about our transition and that we contribute solutions to counteract climate change, remarked Stockholm Exergi’s CEO Anders Egelrud.
Announced in May 2019, the goal of the test plant at the Värtan biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant is to secure the technology for separating the carbon dioxide (CO2) from the flue gases. Securing the carbon storage technology takes place in a parallel project.
Significant carbon removal potential for Stockholm
A large-scale facility for BECCS will cover all parts from CO2 capture to storage and will create major negative emissions each year.
Today’s inauguration is the start of an important test period. We know that the bio-CCS technology works, now we will optimize it for our particular biomass cogeneration plant here in Värtan. Our calculations show that with a full-scale plant we could capture 800 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year here in Värtan and if we look at the whole of Stockholm and also other companies’ operations, it is more than two million tonnes, said Erik Dahlén, R&D manager at Stockholm Exergi.
In addition to the energy minister Anders Ygeman (S) and Anders Egelrud, the event was officiated by the Norwegian State Secretary Liv Lønnum, the City of Stockholm through Anna König Jerlmyr (M) and the Mayor of the Environment, Katarina Luhr (MP), climate scientist Oliver Geden, Fortum’s Sweden’s President Per Langer and Robert Andrén, Director-General of the Swedish Energy Agency, which is providing financial support to the pilot project.
