With a declaration of intent, VEKS, CTR and Ørsted have taken the first step to utilize surplus heat from CO2 capture and Power-to-X at Avedøreværket for district heating and thus, in the long run, use fewer wood pellets.
In connection with the ongoing tender for CO2 capture and storage, Ørsted plans to establish CO2 capture at Avedøreværket’s straw-fired boiler and Asnæsværket. Avedøreværket’s straw-fired boiler has been designated to capture and supply part of the CO2 for the first phases of the Power-to-X project ‘Green Fuels for Denmark’, where the ambition is to develop green fuels for shipping and aviation. Avedøreverket’s straw-fired boiler can also supply CO2 for storage and act as a hub for other players with CO2 emissions in the metropolitan area.
Creating large amounts of surplus heat
If financial support is obtained from the ongoing tender for CO2 capture and storage and Power-to-X, both Green Fuels for the Denmark project and the CO2 capture project may be realized, and the process for CO2 capture and the later process will create large amounts of surplus heat. And surplus heat can be utilized in the capital’s district heating supply.
The parties have now signed a letter of intent, which is the first step in an agreement to supply surplus heat from Avedøreværket to CTR and VEKS.
District heating can hardly get greener
Ole Thomsen, Senior Vice President with responsibility for Ørsted’s power plant business, says: “I am pleased that we share the ambition to utilize the surplus heat from producing green fuels and CO2 capture to district heating in the metropolitan area. It will be surplus heat from a process that uses electricity from an offshore wind farm and CO2 from straw from local fields to make green fuels for heavy transport. Then the district heating can hardly get greener.”
Morten Stobbe, VEKS’ deputy director, says: “With surplus heat from the new technologies, we strengthen green district heating and at the same time expand the capital’s multi-stranded district heating system. It gives robustness and shows in practice that the district heating is ready for conversion and an important gear in the sector coupling.”
Kamma Eilschou Holm, director of CTR, says: “It is gratifying to see the economic development for some large construction projects that can make us more independent of the certified biomass in the long run. We all know biomass will be a scarce resource.”
Capturing sustainable CO2 from the straw boiler in 2025
The Green Fuels for Denmark project is expected to have 100 MW of electrolysis capacity ready from 2025 and 250 MW from 2027, and Ørsted will, in that case, start capturing sustainable CO2 from the straw boiler in 2025. VEKS and CTR share an interest in achieving the Danish climate goals for reducing CO2 from 2025, and CO2 capture at Avedøreværket is the first step.
The straw-fired unit at Avedøreværket converts approximately 130,000 tons of locally purchased straw for electricity and heating. The straw is a residual product from agriculture. The actual CO2 capture process from the straw boiler is expected to generate approx. 48 MW surplus heat corresponding to approx. Annual consumption of 15,000 households.
Bringing green and competitive district heating to the capital
Using straw as fuel and utilizing the surplus heat from the CO2 capture process and Green Fuel for Denmark’s second phase of production of green fuels of 250 MW will provide up to 260 MW of district heating, which corresponds to approx. Annual consumption of 60,000 households. It brings both green and competitive district heating to the capital.
A future investment decision for the CO2 capture project is conditional on obtaining financial support from the ongoing tender for CO2 capture and storage, as well as on the parts of the Green Fuels for Denmark project that deals with the production of e-methanol and e-kerosene being realized. In addition, VEKS, CTR, and Ørsted must agree on using the surplus heat.
Translated from the VEKS website.