CCS project in Norway makes shortlist for EU innovation funding

“This is fantastic news for us and for the project. It shows that the EU believes that CCS is an essential technology to achieve significant emission reductions from waste incineration,” said Jannicke Gerner Bjerkås, CCS Director at Fortum Oslo Varme.

“The Commission’s decision to put Fortum Oslo Varme through to the second round demonstrates clearly the EU’s support for our project which will make a real difference in removing CO2 while dealing with urgent waste management issues,” Bjerkås adds.

The Fortum Oslo Varme project will equip an existing waste-to-energy plant with a carbon capture facility. The project will capture 90% of the 400,000 tonnes of CO2 the plant emits each year. The plant burns residual waste that is left over after reuse and recycling and cannot be dealt with any other way. It includes biological, industrial and hospital waste. The plant supplies nearly 60% of the energy needs for Oslo’s district heating system.

“We are pleased that the EU Innovation fund sees the need for carbon removal technologies to be implemented on waste-to-energy to reach EU’s commitments under the Paris Agreement and its objective to be climate neutral by 2050,” says Per Langer, Executive Vice President, City Solutions, Fortum.

“I am pleased that our project is one step closer to being realized. Carbon neutral cities are a prerequisite to fulfilling the Paris Agreement. The Fortum Oslo Varme waste-to-energy plant may serve as a blueprint for other cities’ sustainable waste management,” says Raymond Johansen, Governing Mayor of Oslo.

The city of Oslo is a joint owner of the project with Finnish energy company Fortum. Once operational, Fortum Oslo Varme will reduce the city’s CO2 emissions by 15%, making a major contribution to Oslo’s net zero plans.

“We are now a substantial step closer to achieving significant emission reductions with carbon capture from waste incineration in Oslo. Realising our project will have a number of positive effects: the Norwegian CCS value chain will be more robust with two capture plants; the possibility of achieving Oslo’s climate goals increases significantly; and we will be able to export carbon capture solutions to the more than 450 waste incineration plants in Europe,” Bjerkås continues.

Fortum Oslo Varme offers a unique way to tackle the EU’s twin challenges of waste management and achieving net zero emissions.
Even if the EU achieves its ambitious Circular Economy targets for reuse and recycling there will be an estimated 40 million tonnes of residual waste that needs to be disposed of because the use of landfill is to be almost completely phased out by 2035.

“We see a great interest in climate-positive solutions. Our project can capture biogenic CO2 and help remove CO2 from the atmosphere, so-called BioCCS. This is becoming an increasingly important climate measure the longer it takes to phase out fossil energy globally. The combination with carbon capture on waste incineration is therefore very relevant for achieving the EU’s and Norway’s climate goals”, Bjerkås says.
“The world is demanding a solution for carbon capture from waste incineration, and we are ready to demonstrate how it can be done. Carbon capture on waste incineration is today a competitive climate measure,” she adds.