Yesterday, the government made two positive announcements that bring Sweden closer to creating negative emissions: Sweden has signed co-operation agreements on carbon dioxide storage with Norway and Denmark, and Sweden has submitted a notification of state aid to the European Commission.
Stockholm Exergi’s goal of building a full-scale plant for the capture of biogenic carbon dioxide for further transport to storage (bio-CCS) is becoming increasingly concrete. The fact that Sweden has now signed cooperation agreements with Denmark and Norway that make permanent storage of Swedish captured carbon dioxide in our neighbouring countries possible is very positive news for Stockholm Exergi’s project to become a reality. The announcement that the government has submitted a notification of state aid to the European Commission is also an important step in ensuring that the Swedish support system is in place and can support the establishment of bio-CCS projects.
– It is very good that Sweden is cooperating with countries that have much better conditions for storage than we do. I also welcome the fact that the government has now moved forward in the process of state aid, so that we can soon have a support system in place. It is important that the pace of the process is high so that the auction can be completed before 2024, said Anders Egelrud, CEO of Stockholm Exergi.
The Government writes about the cooperation agreements on its website, and Minister for Climate and Environment Romina Pourmokhtari emphasises the importance of carbon dioxide capture in achieving the climate goals:
– In addition to large-scale emission reductions, carbon capture and storage will be an important piece of the puzzle in the work to meet the climate goals and reach all the way down to net zero emissions by 2045 and negative emissions thereafter. CCS and bio-CCS will play a key role in the EU’s goal of climate neutrality, she said.
