On 3-4 October 2024, the Baltic Carbon Forum BCF 2024 conference took place in Vilnius. During the event, the progress of CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage) technology implementation in the Baltic Sea countries was presented.

The Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute was represented by Monika Konieczyńska, PhD, from the Department of Environmental Geology, and Adam Wójcicki, PhD, from the Department of Economic Geology and Deposit Balancing.

During the event in Vilnius, presented projects in Poland (Orlen, PCI ECO2CEE project – CO₂ terminal in Gdańsk collecting emissions from refineries, cement plants, etc.) and in Latvia and Lithuania (Schwenk – capturing emissions from cement plants, CCS Baltic project – CO₂ terminal in Klaipeda collecting emissions from industrial installations in Lithuania and Latvia), where it is envisaged that carbon dioxide will be transported by sea and stored under the seabed of the North Sea.

The project to inject (small-scale) carbon dioxide to support oil production (abandoned as a result of the ban on CO₂ storage in Lithuania) was also presented, and the recently launched Danish Greensand project was discussed, including the project's ability to receive carbon dioxide streams captured at industrial facilities in the Baltic Sea countries.

Participants of the meeting in Vilnius

In addition, the issue of the ban on the storage of carbon dioxide under the Baltic seabed, resulting from the interpretation of the provisions of the Helsinki Convention, was discussed, as well as issues of public perception and acceptance in the case of storage of this substance. The meeting presented the results of research work and best practices for prospecting as well as monitoring of storage sites, pilot projects and laboratory experiments, as well as the current status of CC(U)S technology implementation worldwide.

The conference included a panel discussion, where opportunities and barriers to the development of commercial CC(U)S projects in the Baltic Sea countries were discussed. Adam Wójcicki, PhD, presented a paper entitled ‘Development of CCUS value chain scenarios in northern Poland’, summarising the most important work carried out by PGI-NRI within the EU CCUS ZEN project, where transport and storage options for emissions captured from industrial installations in the triangle defined by the location of the Kujawy cement plant, the Orlen refinery in Płock and industrial installations in the Tricity were presented, as scenarios for undertakings complementary to the cluster initiated in the PCI ECO2CEE project, or possible further expansion of that cluster.

The implementation of the CCUS ZEN project (Zero Emission Network to facilitate CCUS uptake in industrial clusters) started in 2022 and will last until 2025. The project is realised by a consortium of 14 partners and the project manager at PGI-NRI is Adam Wójcicki, PhD. The main commissioner is the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) and the project is funded by the HORIZON EUROPE EU programme.

Text: Adam Wójcicki