DISSEMINATION EVENT ON CO2 CAPTURE, TRANSPORT, USE AND STORAGE (CCUS)

On June 13^th 2024, the Dissemination Event on CO₂ Capture, Transport, Use and Storage (CCUS) took place in Tallinn, Estonia. It has been organised by the company SHOGenergy and the TalTech Department of Geology, in representation of two unique Horizon Europe projects:

- HERCCULES (HEROES IN SOUTHERN EUROPE TO DECARBONIZE INDUSTRY WITH CCUS) is the first full chain CCUS demonstration project in Southern Europe, focusing on the cement and energy from waste sectors in Northern Italy and Greek clusters. HERCCULES is coordinated by LEAP (Piacenza Energy and Environment Laboratory), supported by the Horizon Europe programme for 5 years (2023-2027) and co-financed by the industrial partners of the consortium, which brings together a total of 25 partners; and

- CCUS ZEN (Zero Emission Network to facilitate CCUS uptake in the industry) project focuses on the Baltic and Mediterranean regions and aims to increase and share knowledge on CCUS and accelerate its uptake. The project is coordinated by SINTEF, funded by the Horizon Europe programme for 2.5 years, and includes 15 project partners and 40 network partners. The CCUS ZEN project develops cross-border, long-term, full value chain CCUS scenarios in the Baltic and Mediterranean regions.

The event has been a successful example of liaison activities between this two sister projects.

 

The event framework

To meet the climate targets of the Paris Agreement, global CO₂ emissions must be reduced significantly by 2050. European Union is planning to reduce at least 55% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) by 2030 compared to 1990 and 40% of GHGE by 2030, compared to 2005, with a final target to reach climate neutrality including net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

About 50% of the CO₂ emissions in Europe come from industry and energy sectors. Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) is one of the 8 strategic net-zero technologies, that can play a crucial role in ensuring that energy-intensive industries and the power sector in Europe can transit to climate neutrality and the EU can deliver its net-zero commitments.

Net-Zero Industry Act proposed to accelerate CO₂ capture and reach geological storage capacity of 50 Mt of CO2 annually by 2030, and support carbon capture and storage projects by enhancing the availability of CO2 storage sites.

 

Event highlights

With more than 50 participants in presence and 40 connected online, including consortium members,  relevant stakeholders and general public from both HERCCULES and CCUS ZEN projects, the event has been divided into 3 main sessions:

The first session was convened by Martina Fantini from EUCORE Consulting, and included a presentation of HERCCULES and CCUS ZEN projects made by Maurizio Spinelli (LEAP, project coordinator) and Romain Viguier (SCCS), respectively. Following this introduction, Adriano Carrara (A2A Spa) and Matteo Foiadelli (TPI – SIAD group) provided a comprehensive overview of CO₂ Capture in Waste to Energy plants.

The second session,  convened by Pierre Cerasi (SINTEF) comprised a technical discussion on CCUS projects and future scenarios. It started with a presentation from Roberto Ferrario (ENI) on infrastructures for transport and storage and some examples of project sites in Europe. Subsequently, Alla Shogenova (TalTech and Shogen) and Leandro-Henrique Sousa (Rambol, CCUS ZEN) presented an in-depth analysis of the Baltic and Mediterranean Regions CCUS scenario. Their presentation included a techno-economic modelling and an analysis of the value chain.

The third section was focused on Regulations, Public Acceptance and Policies and it was convened by Alla Shogenova. The first presentation was done by Ingvild Ombudstvedt (IOM LAW, CCUS ZEN) and it aimed at examining the regulatory challenges that must be overcome. It was followed by the presentation of Anne Kantel from Fraunhofer ISI on public perception of this technology, as well as the potential role of policy makers in advancing its development. To conclude, a Panel discussion was launched involving the CCUS ZEN networking partners and the HERCCULES local stakeholders.

The event has been a success also because several external experts from outside the consortiums have attended in presence. The questions that were brought up by them were both interesting and valuable for the partners, which leaded to significant discussions among all the audience.

Take away messages, Public slides, Video, Flyer and Agenda are available for download in our Zenodo community: DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12570378.