A Swedish-Norwegian research project will be searching into the possibilities and costs of transporting CO2 captured in Sweden for storage on the Norwegian shelf. This is the first project ever to look into this possibility.
Research Manager Kristin Jordal at SINTEF commented
This can bring Sweden closer to its target of achieving climate neutrality by 2045.
According to the researchers, the goal of this project is to investigate the possibilities of launching a full-scale facility for the capture and transport of CO2 from the Preem refinery and wet gas plant at Lysekil.
A project of this kind could decrease CO2 emissions by more than 500.000 tonnes annually, and the demonstration plant reflects a step towards establishing a full-scale facility by 2025.
Moreover, project manager, Stefania Gardarsdottir, at SINTEF stated that the project provides a unique opportunity for Norway and Sweden to showcase the synergies between CO2 capture from Swedish emissions sources and the Norwegian full-scale CCS project.
SINTEF will research work in all areas of the CCS value chain, beginning from the development of compact heat exchangers (for WHP from the refinery), to the capture of CO2 and assessments of the potential for transporting CO2 to sequestration sites in the North Sea.
Also, the project will incorporate business models for the integration of the work carried out at the Preem facility into the Norwegian full-scale project.
CEO Petter Holland at Preem noted
Norway is a leading player in the development of carbon sequestration technology, and in Sweden there are many industrial companies with a keen interest in CO2 capture as a means of reducing emissions. Collaboration in this project will enable us to create the optimal conditions for achieving a large-scale CCS capture facility.
Concluding, the project is a collaboration between Preem, Chalmers University of Technology, SINTEF Energy Research, Equinor and Aker Solutions. It is being funded with NOK 9.5 million from Gassnova (within the CLIMIT programme framework), and SEK 7.7 million from the Swedish Energy Agency. The project was launched in February in 2019 and will continue until 2021.