Vattenfall - Our project on CCS

Vattenfall's project on CCS

Climate change resulting from emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time.

In order to contribute to a solution, Vattenfall has initiated a long-term research and development project called the Vattenfall's project on CCS.

The aim

Focusing on capturing and storing carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants, the project is designed to achieve secure, cost-effective and feasible technologies for an almost complete elimination of carbon dioxide emissions – allowing us to produce energy that does not contribute to global warming.

The concept

The idea is to capture carbon dioxide from the power plant’s flue gases, compress it into a liquid, and permanently store it deep underground in suitable geological formations. Most of the carbon dioxide will dissolve in the reservoir water, and then very slowly mineralise. An important part of the project involves identifying and assessing the local environmental impact of CO₂ capture, transport and storage.

Commercially viable operation

Initiated in 2001, the project aims to design a 250 MW electricity demonstration plant and create a commercial concept available by 2020, at the latest. Much research and development needs to be performed, with the construction of a 30 MW research plant an important milestone.

The pilot plant

We have built a 30 MW pilot plant for carbon dioxide capture at our lignite-fired power plant at Schwarze Pumpe, Germany. The plant was inaugurated in September 2008. At the pilot plant, we will test and evaluate the technology before building a larger scale demonstration plant.