Ørsted wins billions from Denmark's first CCUS pool

It will be the energy company Ørsted Bioenergy & Thermal Power, which for the first time on a large scale will be responsible for capturing and storing part of the harmful CO₂ emitted from chimneys at power plants and incineration plants, among others.

This is what the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities writes in a press release after the first tender has now been decided. CO₂ capture is absolutely central to achieving climate goals, but it is relatively untested on a large scale.

Ørsted will thus capture and store a minimum of 430,000 tons of CO₂ per year for 20 years from 2026 with support from the approximately eight billion. DKK large CCUS pool.

- The moment when CO₂ is captured from the chimneys is just around the corner, and thus we are bringing a crucial technology into play to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and get one step closer to our climate goals, says Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard.

- Developments are progressing rapidly, and we are now closer to bringing a very important climate tool into play, he says in the press release.

In addition to Ørsted, I/S Vestforbrænding and Aalborg Portland were also prequalified to bid on the tender, however, as the tender deadline had passed, only Ørsted and Vestforbrænding ended up submitting a bid.

CO₂ capture at two plants

According to Ørsted, they will deliver 430,000 tons of reductions annually from 2026. They will start capturing and storing CO₂ in 2025.

Specifically, it is Ørsted's project for CO₂ capture and storage, Ørsted Kalundborg Hub, which has been awarded a 20-year contract by the Danish Energy Agency. This means that Ørsted will now establish CO₂ capture at the wood chip-fired Asnæsværket in Kalundborg and at the straw-fired Avedøreværket boiler plant in Greater Copenhagen, the energy company informs.

- We are very pleased with the result of the tender process and look forward to establishing CO₂ capture facilities at two of our combined heat and power plants that run on sustainable straw and wood chips. According to the UN Climate Panel IPCC, capturing and storing biogenic CO₂ is one of the tools we need to combat climate change. Our CO₂ capture and storage project will make a significant contribution to achieving the politically adopted Danish climate targets for 2025 and 2030,” says Ole Thomsen, Senior Vice President and Head of Ørsted's Power Plants Business.

Ørsted has entered into a collaboration with the Norwegian frontrunner in CO₂ capture technology, Aker Carbon Capture, which has developed its own technology. As a supplier of CO₂ capture technology, Aker Carbon Capture will deliver five Just Catch plants to the CHP plants.

Long way to climate targets

Although it is good news for the climate that the tender has now been decided, it seems that the path to meeting Denmark's first climate target has become longer.

A recent projection from the Danish Energy Agency showed that emissions in 2025 appeared to be 49.8 percent lower than in 1990. This is stumblingly close to the low end of the climate target, which is a reduction of 50-54 percent.

But here it was assumed that the agreement to capture and store CO₂ would have a major effect from 2025, and according to Ørsted, this will not happen until 2026. Last week, the Minister for Climate also acknowledged that it looks difficult to reach the 2025 climate target.

- It is primarily the 2030 target that is the long-term goal we are focusing on now, the Minister told DR Nyheder.

amp / ritzau/