Aalborg Portland, Denmark's largest emitter of CO2, is now officially submitting a bid for the state's billion-kroner subsidy for CO2 capture and storage. The goal is to capture 1.4 million tons of CO2 annually from 2030, which corresponds to the factory's remaining emissions. This is what the cement manufacturer tells Ritzau.
- We have the ambition to be CO2-neutral by 2030. From there, we can produce a more or less climate-neutral cement that can hopefully give us a competitive advantage in the market, says CEO Michael Lundgaard Thomsen.
The final deadline is Wednesday, after which the bid will be assessed by the authorities. The bid is the only one publicly known so far, after a number of other players have withdrawn.
This has happened in particular due to strict tender conditions, where a delay in capture will mean large fines. Aalborg Portland is very aware of this risk, and all subcontractors in the value chain therefore have tight schedules.
- We are very afraid of the fine. We are of course worried about getting it, and we know that it is a large fine that we could face, says Michael Lundgaard Thomsen.
Nevertheless, the company has assessed that the possible gains outweigh the risk of a fine, it says.
Capturing and storing CO2 from chimneys has been earmarked for years to play a key role in the Danish transition. The rationale is that some sectors, such as the cement industry and waste incineration, are so difficult to transition to climate-neutral practices that they would rather filter CO2 out of the smoke from the processes.
Focusing on onshore storage
Here, the Danish Parliament has allocated almost 30 billion kroner to support the technology. However, it is still a new and relatively untested technology, with the infrastructure for transportation and storage not yet in place. Aalborg Portland now wants to establish this.
The company aims to create the value chain on land, where a suitable underground storage facility is being sought to pump CO2 into.
Aalborg Portland is thus signaling that it believes more in a quick establishment on land rather than at sea, where oil companies are otherwise struggling to make their old oil fields ready to store the emitted CO2.
- Onshore is, all else being equal, a cheaper solution than offshore, says Michael Lundgaard Thomsen.
The state support pool is set to deliver 2.3 million tons of CO2 in 2030. But that will require another bidder, which is not known at this time.
The Danish Energy Agency must now process Aalborg Portland's application before a final decision is made in April.
/ritzau/
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