Swedish Energy Agency bankrolls Malmö CO2 Hub project

December 10, 2024, by Naida Hakirevic Prevljak

A project that seeks to develop a common infrastructure in southern Sweden for transport and storage or utilization of carbon dioxide has received a financial boost from the Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten).

As informed, the government agency has granted SEK 5.3 million (about $484,003) to Malmö CO2 Hub, a collaboration between several industrial and energy companies. The funding has been awarded as part of The Industrial Leap, a governmental initiative to support the green transition and eco-friendly innovative projects.

The Malmö CO2 Hub project gathers several parties active in energy, port logistics and waste management sectors: Copenhagen Malmö Port (CMP), E.ON, Nordion Energi, Sysav and Uniper, with the support of Växjö Energi and Öresundskraft.

Specifically, the financial support from the Swedish Energy Agency will be used to develop an in-depth feasibility study for a common carbon infrastructure in southern Sweden, including transportation and final geological storage. The feasibility study is planned to be completed in June 2025.

A common system for the transport and storage or utilization of carbon dioxide would allow companies in the carbon dioxide hub to share investment costs, making carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) more financially accessible and thus increasing the emission reductions. The goal is to develop a sustainable CCUS infrastructure that is open to additional stakeholders, according to the project partners.

“By collaborating on a carbon capture, utilisation and storage infrastructure, we can achieve climate benefits not only for industry but also for Sweden as a whole,” Henrik Norgren, Project Manager, commented.

“The project provides economies of scale and reduced costs for all participating companies, making it easier for us to contribute to achieving Sweden’s climate goals. This funding from the Swedish Energy Agency and our partners makes this possible, and establishes a model that other Regions can derive inspiration from.”

A solution for sustainable industrial development and climate change

Carbon capture has been identified as an important component in achieving the climate targets set by Sweden and the EU to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The thinking behind the project is to establish Malmö as a carbon dioxide logistics hub, where carbon dioxide can be collected and transported for final storage, in Norway or Denmark for example.

Together, the parties involved in Malmö CO2 Hub are working to build out an infrastructure that enables 1-2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to be captured and stored annually. This would thus contribute to achieving negative emissions and more sustainable industrial production in Sweden.

Malmö CO₂ Hub is an advancement of the CNETSS collaboration which has the long-term goal of increasing the potential for reducing emissions and achieving “negative emissions.” Participants in phases 1 and 2 were South Scania Waste, CMP, E.ON, Växjö Energi, Öresundskraft, Nordion Energi, Kraftringen, Höganäs, Kemira and Stora Enso. These phases resulted in the port in Malmö being identified as the most suitable location for an intermediate storage facility for carbon dioxide.

The project has determined the amount and timing of the quantities of carbon dioxide to be captured by the participants, the most appropriate methods for transport to the intermediate storage facility, as well as the size of the storage facility and the physical storage requirements of the intermediate storage facility.

Several years ago, CMP also joined Copenhagen’s CO2 capture project on Amager Bakke. With a large-scale plant for carbon capture, Amager Bakke will be capable of capturing up to 500,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. This will be an important contribution to the Danish climate goals as well as Copenhagen’s goals of reaching CO2 neutrality.