Home District Energy News HOFOR (Greater Copenhagen Utility) is preparing to capture CO2

HOFOR (Greater Copenhagen Utility) is preparing to capture CO2

by Linda Bertelsen
Amagerværket, Copenhagen

HOFOR is exploring the possibility of capturing up to 900,000 tons of CO2 from Amagerværket and preparing to participate in the national support tender.

It is imperative that the CO2 emitted from Copenhagen’s largest CO2 sources be captured if the Municipality of Copenhagen is to achieve its own goal of being climate-positive by 2025. This is why HOFOR is now investigating the possibility of capturing up to 900,000 tons of CO2.

Specifically, the focus is on capturing and storing CO2 from Amagerværket, which provides district heating to the residents of Copenhagen. In this way, HOFOR can play a central role in relation to Copenhagen’s goal of being climate-positive by 2035, as stated in a press release from HOFOR.

As of now, on December 14, 2023, the City Council approved HOFOR’s expenditure of 6,7 million € to prepare and submit bids for the state’s support tender for CO2 capture and storage.

“It is important to learn to crawl before you can walk – but when it comes to the climate battle, we must both walk, run, and sprint. And preferably all at once. We must go all out to make Copenhagen CO2-neutral and ultimately climate-positive. CO2 capture is a completely crucial technology to achieve these goals. From the Municipality of Copenhagen’s perspective, we will do everything we can to realize the project,” says Mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen in a comment on the project.

A long way before the facility is ready.

There are still many pieces that need to fall into place before a CO2 capture facility is ready at Amagerværket. Initially, HOFOR is seeking a business partner who can handle the construction of the facility, transportation, storage, and revenue aspects. HOFOR has just announced a concession tender to find the right business partner.

“The ambition is to sign an agreement with a partner before the summer vacation. It should be a partner we can rely on so that we can design and build the right facility to capture CO2. On our side, we can contribute all the knowledge needed to integrate the new facility with the rest of Amagerværket’s infrastructure,” says HOFOR’s Chairman of the Board, Susanne Juhl.
Bid to be won Once HOFOR has found a partner for the project, the next task is to win the state tender for support for CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) facilities. From the public side, there are currently two tenders planned, with the winners to be announced in December 2024 and December 2025.

Finally, there is the challenge of building the facility itself and integrating it with the rest of Amagerværket. If all goes well, the facility is expected to be ready in 2028/2029. The CO2 capture facility itself is estimated to cost approximately 500.000 – 700.000 €

“If we succeed in this promising project, HOFOR and the Municipality of Copenhagen will together take a huge step towards a Copenhagen heat supply with a significantly lower CO2 footprint than today. At the same time, it will be a milestone in relation to the ambition of a climate-positive capital in 2035. And it will be an important piece in the national climate ambitions,” says Susanne Juhl.

Article translated from the Danish District Heating Association