Researchers Want to Store Swedish CO2 Under the North Sea

A Swedish-Norwegian research project will be looking into the possibilities and costs of transporting CO2 captured in Sweden for storage on the Norwegian continental shelf. This is the first project ever to look into this possibility.

 “This can bring Sweden closer to its target of achieving climate neutrality by 2045," says Research Manager Kristin Jordal at SINTEF.

May reduce CO2 emissions by 500,000 tons per year

The aim is to investigate the possibilities of establishing a full-scale facility for the capture and transport of CO2 from the Preem refinery and wet gas plant at Lysekil. Such a project would reduce CO2 emissions by up to 500,000 tons per year, and the demonstration plant represents a step towards establishing a full-scale facility by 2025.

“Preem’s CCS project provides a unique opportunity for Norway and Sweden to showcase the synergies between CO2 capture from Swedish emissions sources and the Norwegian full-scale CCS project," says Project Manager Stefania Gardarsdottir at SINTEF.

SINTEF’s contribution will be research work on all aspects of the CCS value chain, from the development of compact heat exchangers (for WHP from the refinery), to the capture of CO2 and assessments of the potential for transporting CO2 to sequestration sites in the North Sea. The project will also incorporate business models for the integration of the work carried out at the Preem facility into the Norwegian full-scale project.

Keen interest in CO2 capture

“Norway is a leading player in the development of carbon sequestration technology, and in Sweden there are many industrial companies with a keen interest in CO2 capture as a means of reducing emissions," says CEO Petter Holland at Preem. “Collaboration in this project will enable us to create the optimal conditions for achieving a large-scale CCS capture facility."

The project is a joint effort involving Preem, Chalmers University of Technology, SINTEF Energy Research, Equinor and Aker Solutions. It is being funded with $1.2 million from Gassnova (within the CLIMIT programme framework), and $830,000 from the Swedish Energy Agency. The project was launched in February in 2019 and will continue until 2021.