“We also need to support less promising projects”

Hanne Lerche Raadal became a member of the CLIMIT Programme Board in 2019. “The work is interesting because we get fantastic insight into all the research and development going on related to carbon management, and as Board members we set out guidelines for future research efforts through proposals for revisions to the programme plan. As someone who works a lot on developing research projects, it’s also been interesting to get an insight into the organisation of and division of work between CLIMIT, Gassnova and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in this field.”

How do you encounter CCS in your day-to-day work?

“More and more frequently! At NORSUS, we are developing knowledge and methods for sustainability in society by working with companies and the public sector in order to reduce their impact on the environment. For my part, I’ve done a lot of work on environmental documentation and optimisation of products and processes in the areas of energy and waste treatment, particularly wind energy, hydropower, biogas, and waste incineration plants. Our environmental and sustainability assessments are based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, which also is relevant for CCS and CCUS value chain. For example, it can be used to find out for what conditions possible net gains of removing CO₂ directly from the atmosphere, which is a technology that is still in its early stages, might be achieved. We need thorough analyses of the value chains for the new systems we want to create. These analyses need to include energy consumption and other important factors related to different environmental impacts so that we can see the entire environmental impact of the systems we are comparing, which is important for future decision processes.”

What do you think is CLIMIT’s most important contribution to the green transformation?

“CLIMIT’s role has been, and must continue to be, to set the innovation and development of future-oriented solutions in motion based on comprehensive documentation. The realisation of carbon capture, transport and storage through the Longship project is a good example of the CLIMIT programme’s vital supportive function. However, at the same time, CLIMIT must also be able to use funds for projects that seem interesting to begin with, but that turn out to be not so promising after all. Research and development are also about discovering things and excluding ideas that are not as beneficial as were intended. We need to figure this out as early as possible in order to avoid making unnecessary large investments. That’s why such knowledge will be useful for pushing forward an area of research that is of vital importance for the world and for humanity.” 

What should CLIMIT prioritise in terms of technology development in the future – where are the gaps?

“The latest revisions to the programme plan mean that efforts will be more focused towards technology development that will help to reduce the risks and costs of full-scale capture and storage projects that are under development. It’s a real priority given the significant emission reductions the industry has to deliver by 2030. There must also be space for research into new capture methods and business models. I also think that it’s a positive that social scientific issues related to how climate and other environmental issues should be handled are being addressed by the programme and that more attention is being given to hydrogen production combined with carbon management, DAC and the value of capturing biogenic CO₂. The green transition isn’t just about technology in and of itself, but also about how we can develop good business models for carbon reduction and removal, including the use of BECCS (Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage), CDR (Carbon Dioxide Removal) and similar technologies, all based on comprehensive documentation.” 

What needs do you see for the CLIMIT programme over the next five years?

“CLIMIT’s role is to drive research and development that will create the technologies that Norway and the world need to make carbon capture and storage a successful instrument in the fight against climate change. We’ve come a long way, but for the programme to be successful, we need focused efforts for at least the next five years.”