CCS essential for climate neutrality
At the fall conference of ÖGEW and DGMK in Vienna, the unavoidable CO2 from industrial production processes must be captured from the exhaust gases of factories and stored.
Despite all the technical and economic challenges, processes for capturing CO2 from the exhaust gases of factories and power plants are essential to achieving a climate-neutral economy. That was the tenor of a panel discussion at the autumn conference of the ÖGEW and the DGMK, which took place on November 14 and 15 in Vienna.Holger Ott, Chair of Reservoir Engineering at the University of Leoben in the Austrian state of Styria, explained that CO2 emissions could not be avoided in practice, especially in some industrial production processes, which he called “hard to abate”. Therefore, there is no other solution than to filter the CO2 from the exhaust gases and then either store it underground (carbon capture and storage, CCS) or use it to produce usable materials (carbon capture and utilization, CCU).According to Ott, the problem with such methods is not so much the technology as the acceptance of politics and the population: “Consumers contribute no less to climate change than oil and gas producers.” Some interest groups that criticize CCS and CCU are also concerned with “polarizing in order to become visible.” In fact, CCS is a comparatively well-known and proven technology, Ott reminded the audience. It was developed decades ago to increase the yield in oil production. Based on this, the relevant methods available today have been developed since the 1990s.
“Open handling”
Veronika Ruthensteiner of OMV Energy advised an “open approach” to CCS. Her company, a subsidiary of the Austrian oil, gas and chemicals group OMV, is currently involved in two projects. These are designed to store a total of up to 12.5 million tons of CO2 per year in rock formations in the Norwegian North Sea from the early 2030s. Furthermore, OMV Energy is part of the Austrian-Bavarian CO2 export initiative. This has the goal of transporting around 8.5 million tons of CO2 by pipeline to undersea storage facilities in Norwegian territory starting in 2034. “It's true that oil and gas companies like us are responsible for large amounts of CO2 emissions. That's why we also have to deal with the consequences,” Ruthensteiner summarized.
Wien Energie is also working on CCS and CCU, with the aim of using such technologies to treat unavoidable emissions from its waste incinerators. According to project manager Wolfgang Schwarz, the goal is to commission an initial plant for capturing CO2 from the exhaust gases of a Viennese waste incinerator in the early 2030s. Schwarz also acknowledged the need for an open approach to the issue: “The Nordic countries in Europe are approaching these issues much more dynamically.”
Pragmatism required
Pragmatism was also recommended by Stefan Wagenhofer, managing director of the transmission system operator Gas Connect Austria (GCA): “Of course we could save the climate by shutting down the entire infrastructure. But that is not the path we have chosen.” The energy system in its current form has been built up over a period of about 100 years. Now it is time to rebuild it in the sense of climate neutrality. Some of the technologies required for this are still in the early stages of development. It is therefore a good idea to pursue different technological paths, from CCS and CCU to the use of “green” hydrogen.
Martin Wagner, managing director of the trading and distribution company Verbund Energyforbusiness, argued similarly. He said that Austria has the advantage, among other things, of being able to expand pumped storage power plants and build new plants when it comes to energy system transformation and climate neutrality. However, this is not possible in all countries for geographical reasons. These countries would therefore have to rely on battery storage systems, among other things. According to Wagner, comprehensive concepts are being developed, from the environmentally and socially responsible procurement of the necessary raw materials to the recycling and final disposal of materials that can no longer be used. Ultimately, he said, companies would be well advised to develop projects in the field of energy system transformation and climate change together: “We can all help each other here.”
