Feasibility Study for Forus Waste-to-Energy Plant

Background and project purpose?
Forus Energy Recovery is a waste management and heat recovery plant owned by project owner Lyse Neo AS (which in turn is owned by regional municipalities) and IVAR Næring AS (50/50 shares). The project owner and partners have been requested by its owners and the Norwegian government to evaluate CCS for the plant.

What was the project objective?
This project and the technical feasibility study will enable the project partners to answer questions from owners and other interest groups what it takes to realize CCS for the plant, such as technical opportunities and limitations, estimated investment and operating costs, the need for public funding, and to provide an understanding of the framework set by laws and regulations for a publicly owned business in this industry with CCS?

What has the project done in terms of activities?
Project work packages:
1: Technical feasibility study with cost estimates carried out by Aker Carbon Capture (not included in the project scope supported by CLIMIT-Demo). Completed as planned.
2: Business model, incentives and regulations. Carried out in collaboration with Aker Carbon Capture, Bellona and CICERO.
3: Full-scale financing opportunities.
4: Integration with transport and storage. Completed as planned.
5: Profit realization and communication. The work is continued by the CLIMIT-Demo project 622027 Hafslund Oslo Celsio “Klimakur for Waste Management in Norway (KAN)”
6: Rogaland carbon cluster. A joint project has been established between IVAR and Lyse to establish a local CO₂ value chain.

What has the project achieved? Did the project achieve its objective?
The project has achieved the objectives as described above.

Summary.
Capture and storage of CO₂ from waste management plants can contribute to a 3-6% reduction of Norway’s greenhouse gas emissions. Given the geographical spread of waste facilities, the establishment of CO₂ capture from waste incineration can be a catalyst for local and regional CO₂ value chains and thus facilitate capture and storage or utilization from other smaller point emissions.

CO₂ capture technology is tested on waste incineration and ready to use. Continued development of optimized solutions for heat recovery for district heating is especially important for the industry. Transport and intermediate storage from capture facilities to large-scale transport and storage value chains can be a cost driver and must be optimized case by case.

As of today, there are no financial incentives or instruments for the industry to reduce CO₂ emissions. In order to prevent suboptimal transport of waste, new instruments must be suitable for a Nordic/Northern European market for waste.

The report summarizes a number of potential business models using Forus Energy Recovery as an example. The total nominal cost of capture and storage of CO₂ from Forus Energy Recovery is estimated at between NOK 1,000 and NOK 2,500 per metric ton CO₂ captured.

Recommendation:

Fee: There should be a tax on fossil CO₂ emissions from waste incineration, alternatively waste incineration plants should be incorporated into the ETS. The carbon tax should be oriented so that the total number of instruments makes it possible to realize CO₂ capture. The waste industry believes that the carbon tax should not be increased until the total amount of instruments makes it possible to realize CO₂ capture

Value of negative emissions: Regulations should allow for reporting of captured biogenic CO₂ to facilitate trading of certified negative emissions as a source of revenue.

Incentive for rapid start-up: Schemes must be introduced to provide a time-limited incentive for rapid start-up of CCS from waste incineration. The incentive should cover the gap between costs and income.

Future plans?
The CLIMIT-Demo project 622027 Hafslund Oslo Celsio “Climate Cure for Waste Incineration in Norway (KAN)” builds on the results of this project.

The municipalities of Stavanger and Sandnes, which are the two largest owners of IVAR and Lyse, which in turn are the largest owners in Forus Energigjenvinning, have requested development of documentation required for making an investment decision for CCS for the waste incineration plants.