On June 13, 2024, the Dissemination event on CO2 Capture, Transport, Use and Storage (CC(U)S) and addressing Horizon Europe Projects HERCCULES & CCUS ZEN took place in Tallinn.

The first concerns applied research for the full chain of CO2 capture, transport and utilisation technologies, and the second, in which PGI-NRI is a partner, includes studies for selected CCUS value chains in the Baltic and Mediterranean basins, drawing on experience from projects in the North Sea basin. The workshop discussed CO2 capture in energy installations using municipal waste incineration, transport and storage infrastructure for CC(U)S projects in operation or at earlier stages in Europe. Legal issues are also presented, including barriers holding back the implementation of CC(U)S technology.

- In our region, the barrier is the interpretation of Article 11 of the Helsinki Convention, the provision of which prohibits the storage of carbon dioxide under the seabed of the Baltic Sea, while in Denmark it is permissible to locate an underground carbon dioxide storage complex on land areas within geological structures that can continue under the seabed of the Baltic Sea. - said dr inż. Adam Wójcicki of PGI-NRI, a participant in the workshop.

Participants in the Tallinn workshop

Another important topic was the issue of public acceptance of CC(U)S projects, which involved discussing the role and importance of policy makers and the public in the implementation of these technologies. It was acknowledged that public education on the subject was necessary.

- In particular, the workshop was an opportunity to learn about the progress of CC(U)S technology deployment in Mediterranean countries, specifically in the Adriatic and Aegean basins. Interestingly, during the course of these, it was announced that the Ravenna hub had just been launched, where the infrastructure for the transport and storage (and use in industrial processes) of CO2 emissions from a number of industrial installations located in the north-eastern part of Italy has been set up, with storage taking place in depleted gas deposits under the Adriatic seabed. Work is underway on a similar hub (Prinos), involving carbon storage in the northern Aegean, where the source of CO2 will be industrial installations located in Greece and possibly also in neighbouring countries. CC(U)S technologies are being implemented in more areas of Europe, with ongoing projects generally using geological structures under the seabed for industrial-scale carbon storage (perhaps the exception will be future Danish projects using structures on land), said dr inż. Adam Wójcicki.

Text: Adam Wójcicki