EU backs 4 CCS projects with funding
SUMMARY
The funding will come from revenues from the EU's emissions trading system.
By Joseph MurphyThe European Commission has awarded €1bn ($1.1bn) in funding to seven emissions-reducing projects, including four involving carbon capture and storage (CCS), it announced on April 1.
One of the projects is Kairos@C, situated in the Belgian port of Antwerp, which aims to create the first and largest cross-border CCS chain. The initiative, led by Air Liquide and BASF, is expected to store 14mn metric tons of CO2 equivalent over its first decade of operation.
Another is BECCS in Stockholm, Sweden, which is led by Stockholm Exergi and will involve the construction of a CCS facility at an existing biomass plant, and is expected to abate 7.83mn mt of CO2e over its first ten years. KG Program in Lumbres, France, will capture 8.1mn mt of CO2e at a cement plant owned by EQIOM. Air Liquide is also participating in this scheme. SHARC at Neste's Porvoo refinery in Finland will strive to avoid 4mn mt of CO2e using carbon capture and by replacing fossil fuel-based hydrogen with green hydrogen.
The financing will come from the EU's Innovation Fund, which in turn is funded with revenues from the bloc's emissions trading system. The other three projects selected involve developing photovoltaic module manufacturing and methane from landfills in Italy and Spain, and using green hydrogen in ironmaking in Sweden.
The commission said the investment would "empower innovative, forward-thinking businesses that develop cutting-edge technologies and drive the climate transition in their respective fields."
"This is a smart investment into the decarbonisation and resilience of our economy; it boosts European industry's position as global leaders in clean tech, creates local jobs, and helps to accelerate our green transition," the commission said.
