Funding CCS, Bio-CCS and BECCS

Society will be fossil free. Establishing the technology and value chain that are needed to capture carbon dioxide requires serious investments, but who dares and can invest in projects associated with risk? The European Investment Fund (EIF) does! During the summer, they went out with a call for projects that could demonstrate innovative technologies in this area.

Many people question whether there is funding available for Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS). Magnus Andersson, who is Head of Business Development at IMCG, says the answer depends on who you ask. Companies and municipalities frequently say that finding funding is a challenge. Actors on the financing side answer by saying there is no end of capital and that they are looking for projects to finance. However, the catch is that they want to find projects to finance that do not entail too great a risk.

At a webinar on CCS arranged by Midroc and Blue Carbon Solutions on 5 November 2020, many experts witnessed on the importance of finding funding for CCS solutions and why CCS is an important piece in the puzzle for enabling the transition to a fossil-free economy.

"The CCS technology is a necessary solution and the observed risk with CCS will disappear with time. There is an urgent need to see emerging financing models," says Karin Comstedt Webb, Cementa Heidelberg.

"Sweden has 28 really large point sources for biogenic and fossil emissions. These are primarily in petrochemicals, steel, paper and pulp, cement and refineries. In Sweden, a total of 43 million tonnes of carbon dioxide are emitted annually. CCS can remove more than half of these emissions. In other words, getting a funding system started is important," says Filip Johnsson, Chalmers University of Technology.

"Energy companies are not used to taking investment decisions that are as speculative as those linked to CCS. We have good technical feasibility studies, but we will not have a project that is wholly financed by grants. It is necessary to dare to take the decision, that we have sufficient belief in what will start up in 3-4 years," Erik Rylander fromStockholm Exergi says. He expects to capture 800,000 tonnes carbon dioxide per year thanks to the CCS technology.

"We have worked with funding ever since we walked about listening to a Walkman," Magnus Andersson, IMCG, says rather playfully and continues: "To EIF's first deadline, 29 October 2020, we supported, together with Midroc, a number of projects to help to secure the funding needed to realise many of the CCS projects with great potential in Sweden."

Unique for the CCS initiatives that Midroc and IMCG have worked with is that, in contrast to much of the other funding activities, they have the full support of owners and management. Moreover, the project teams for these initiatives are made up of sponsors, business developers, project managers and CCS experts. This guarantees good project proposals and projects that can be performed effectively, even if they are of a complex nature.

Financing CCS; webinar – LINK

Letter combinations to keep an eye on

• CCS – Carbon Capture & Storage
• Bio – CCS or BECCS – Biogen Carbon Capture & Storage
• CCU – Carbon Capture & Usage
• CDR – Carbon Dioxide Removal
  

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