Every molecule counts

The theme of this year's autumn conference of the ÖGEW and DGMK in Vienna was “Every molecule counts”. In line with the subtitle of the event, the discussions primarily focused on “industrial projects for CO2 avoidance, use, storage, transport, capture and storage”. According to ÖGEW President Reinhard Oswald, the energy transition can only succeed if industry and politics work together. The companies are willing to do their part, but they need clear framework conditions. This was also confirmed by Jürgen Rückheim, head of the Geoenergy Systems and Underground Technologies department at the DGMK. According to him, a “real ramp-up” of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies in Germany is “a long way off”. Nevertheless, industry must “invest with all its strength and know-how”. The DGMK could “provide a competent network” for this. These statements summed up the general mood at the conference.

OMV's strategy

Representing OMV board member Berislav Gaso, who was unable to attend due to the Russian gas supply stoppage, Hendrik Mosser, responsible for exploration at the Austrian group, and Otmar Schneider from OMV Downstream GmbH, explained their company's strategic projects for its ongoing transformation. According to Mosser, OMV plans to become climate-neutral along the entire value chain by 2050. It intends to continue producing oil and gas as feedstocks for chemical materials. In the chemicals business, OMV is focusing on expansion and is setting up a low-carbon business unit. Schneider added that OMV intends to produce around 1.5 million tons of renewable fuels per year from 2030, including 750,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

E-Fuels in Europe

Ina Chirita, Associate Director Biofuels at Standard & Poors Global, provided an outlook on long-term developments in the field of e-fuels in Europe. According to her, most of the processes for their production are at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 or even lower, so they are hardly market-ready. And the economic challenges should not be underestimated. Currently, e-fuels cost about four to five times as much as conventional fuels. According to Chirita, the EU and the UK have the most developed funding systems in this area, and they are focusing on SAF with good reason: “Global demand for SAF could increase to around 17 million tons by 2050.”

VW on the road to climate neutrality

Thomas Garbe from VW reported on the “potential of renewable fuels to achieve climate neutrality in transport”. According to him, the Research Association for Combustion Engines (FVV), of which he is a member, is investigating different technologies to substantially reduce CO2 emissions from transport. The result: “We need a mix of technologies to achieve the politically agreed targets.” For VW, battery-electric vehicles are the first choice, but other technologies are also being considered. Garbe described E20, which can be used in existing engines without any problems, as the “absolute sweet spot for the European market”. According to Garbe, biofuels are generally available at short notice, but have limited potential. E-fuels, on the other hand, are not expected to be available for some time, but their potential is significantly greater.

Coprocessing for refineries

According to Michael Schindler from OMV Deutschland Operations GmbH & Co. KG, coprocessing for refineries is “a good way to start decarbonization.” His company decided to start producing hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) in 2016. The raw materials used include used cooking oil, used cooking fats and nut shell oils: “This helps us to avoid the tank-plate discussion.” OMV chose coprocessing as the manufacturing process because it can be easily integrated into refineries. After initial difficulties, the plant has been running successfully since June of this year. According to Schindler, HVO is “a noble fuel”. It is also a “transformative material for OMV” that can also be put to good chemical use.

“Green Ammonia” in Linz

Robert Schlesinger, who is responsible for energy and climate projects at LAT Nitrogen Linz GmbH, discussed the “Green Ammonia Linz” electrolysis project. His company is currently the largest hydrogen producer and consumer in Austria, producing around 100,000 tons per year. As part of the “Green Ammonia Linz” project, LAT plans to work with Austria's largest electricity company, Verbund, to produce around 7,000 tons of “green” hydrogen per year. To do this, it is building an electrolyzer with a capacity of around 60 MW. In order to be able to use the “green” hydrogen continuously, it is also installing a hydrogen storage tank with a volume of five tons. The next step is to reduce the costs of “green” hydrogen. It is also essential that customers are willing to bear any additional costs.

E-Methanol: Pioneers in Denmark

“Pioneering Carbon Capture Solutions for Sustainable Transportation and Chemical Industries” was the title of the presentation by Eberhart Wusterhaus of the British company Carbon Clean, which specializes in the decarbonization of industrial plants. He referred to calculations by the Methanol Institute, according to which around 112 million tons of e-methanol will be needed worldwide in 2050, not least for SAF. In February 2024, Carbon Clean announced that it would establish an “E-Fuel Design & Performance Center” (DPC) with partners in Denmark. This is to develop turnkey e-methanol factories for use worldwide. According to Wusterhaus, politicians should recognize e-fuels as a means of decarbonizing industry and create the appropriate framework conditions.

Sealing of storage sites

Taofik Nassan from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg described the current status of the EU-funded project “RETURN: Reusing depleted oil and gas fields for CO2 sequestration”. The project, which runs until the end of December, aims to understand how low temperatures and temperature fluctuations in potential underground CO2 storage sites affect the ability to store CO2. “When CO2 is stored in geological formations, the temperature in these deposits drops. In addition, the CO2 reacts with the materials used in the drilling and sealing of the wells,” explained Nassan. However, the results of RETURN are promising: it has been shown that cement seals in the storage facilities essentially fulfill their purpose.

New approach at DAC

A new electrochemical approach for filtering CO2 from the air (Direct Air Capture, DAC) is being pursued by Phlair GmbH (Carbon Atlantis) based in Ismaning, about seven kilometers northeast of Munich, reported managing director Paul Teufel. Its so-called “hydrolyzer” uses electricity, water and salt to produce high-purity CO2 that can either be stored in geological formations or used to produce “CO2-negative” chemicals. A pilot plant is currently being commissioned. The first commercial plant is to be built in Canada. According to Teufel, the technology has a modular design, which allows for rapid upscaling.

SouthH2 Corridor brings hydrogen

The most sensible option for the necessary import of “green” hydrogen to Europe and Austria is pipelines, reported Stefan Wagenhofer, managing director of the transmission company Gas Connect Austria (GCA). One of the most important projects for Austria is the approximately 3,300-kilometer-long “SoutH2 Corridor”. The lion's share of 2,300 kilometers would be accounted for by the Italian Snam, which would have to construct around 27 percent of the route from scratch. In Austria, a 380-kilometer-long section of the Trans-Austria gas pipeline would have to be reallocated. GCA would have to provide 340 kilometers of pipelines, 200 kilometers of which would have to be built from scratch. Finally, Bayernets would have to provide 294 kilometers, 14 of which would have to be newly constructed. According to Wagenhofer, hydrogen producers want to transport around 2.5 million tons annually on the SouthH2 Corridor.

Battery storage for Germany

The Austrian electricity company Verbund sees large batteries as an “enabler of the energy transition,” stated Martin Wagner, managing director of the trading and distribution company Verbund Energy4Business. The batteries are used primarily to compensate for short-term surpluses and shortfalls in electricity demand. In Germany and Austria, the group currently operates 15 battery storage systems with a total output of 110 MW and a storage capacity of 130 MWh. These include the Thuringia battery storage chain with 20 MW of power and 23 MWh of storage capacity, the Northern Bavaria battery storage chain with 42 MW and 48 MWh, and the Bavaria-Hesse battery storage chain with 44 MW and 55 MWh. The plan is to construct plants with a total capacity of 1 GW by 2030.

CCS in Austria...

Holger Ott, a professor at the University of Leoben, reported on the possible role of CCS as part of Austria's carbon management strategy. According to Ott, Austria will probably have to deal with emissions of between 11 and 59 million tons of CO2 per year with CCS. As he and his colleagues have determined, a total of around 200 to 300 million tons can be stored in Austria's hydrocarbon fields. The potential of deep aquifers is in the gigaton range. In the longer term, around 100 gigatons could be exported and stored in subsea formations. The prerequisite for all projects is the lifting of the ban on commercial CCS projects in Austria, which is planned for 2025, Ott stated....

and in the North Sea

OMV is already working on CCS projects in the Norwegian North Sea, reported Veronika Ruthensteiner from OMV Energy. Together with Aker BP, it is working on the “Poseidon” project to store five million tons of CO2 per year from 2030. The second project is called “Iroko” and is being carried out together with Var Energi and Lime Petroleum. From 2031, they want to store around 7.5 million tons per year. OMV is also participating in the Austrian-Bavarian CO2 export initiative. The plan is to store around 8.5 million tons of CO2 per year in Norwegian sub-sea formations from 2034. Eleven partners, including emitters as well as pipeline and storage operators, have signed a memorandum of understanding to this end.

Hard to abate

Wien Energie has to treat around one million tons of CO2 from thermal waste recycling plants using technologies such as CCS. According to the responsible speaker, Wolfgang Schwarz, the goal is to commission the first plant of this kind in the early 2030s. According to Schwarz, around 40 percent of the CO2 emitted by the waste incinerators comes from fossil sources and is unavoidable (“hard to abate”). It has not yet been decided which technology Wien Energie will use to capture CO2 from the waste incineration exhaust gases. However, Schwarz believes it is necessary to generate competition between the providers of such processes in order to reduce costs. And without public funding, relevant projects will not be realizable for the time being.