Stockholm CO2 Capture: Europe’s Largest Facility
- Stockholm has broken ground on a large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, poised to become one of the world's largest.The goal of this carbon capture initiative is...
- The new plant will have the capacity to capture and store over 800,000 metric tons of CO2 annually.
- European climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, speaking at the construction site, called it a major project in Europe and globally.
Stockholm Launches major Carbon Capture and storage Project
Stockholm has broken ground on a large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, poised to become one of the world’s largest.The goal of this carbon capture initiative is to capture more carbon dioxide than the Swedish capital’s annual road emissions.
The new plant will have the capacity to capture and store over 800,000 metric tons of CO2 annually. Anders Egelrud, CEO of Stockholm Exergi, the utility spearheading the project, said this exceeds the emissions from Stockholm’s road traffic.
European climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, speaking at the construction site, called it a major project in Europe and globally. The investment totals 13 billion kronor ($1.4 billion).The technology will separate, liquefy, and permanently store CO2, creating negative emissions.
Stockholm Exergi, which supplies heat and electricity to the city, already uses forestry industry byproducts like wood chips. The new facility will capture and store carbon dioxide released from their own production processes. Funding includes subsidies, loans from the EU and Sweden, and emission certificate sales to private companies.
The captured CO2 will be temporarily stored on-site before being shipped to Norway for permanent storage in the Northern Lights project, an underwater CO2 storage site off the Norwegian coast. The CO2 is liquefied and transported by ship to a facility near Bergen,Norway. from there, it goes through a 68-mile pipeline and is injected into the seabed at a depth of about 1.6 miles.
Hoekstra noted the nordic region’s favorable geography for shipping and storing carbon. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) advocate for CCS technology, especially for industries like cement and steel that are tough to decarbonize, despite its complexity and cost.
According to the IEA, the world’s current carbon capture capacity is 50.5 million metric tons, about 0.1% of annual global emissions. This carbon capture and storage project aims to significantly increase that capacity.
What’s next
The Stockholm project is expected to be completed in the coming years, with ongoing monitoring to ensure the safe and effective long-term storage of captured carbon dioxide.