A milestone for clean electricity in europe
It may look like a conventional industrial plant, but seen here in the background behind Hubertus Altmann is one of the most important keys to the climate challenge in the future: two tanks of liquefied carbon dioxide that has been captured from the combustion process at the coal-fired plant.
In Schwarze Pumpe - home of the world’s first pilot plant based on oxyfuel technology for CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) in a coal-fired power plant - initial tests are currently being conducted on a slightly larger scale of the technology that the EU and large parts of the energy world have pinned their hopes on for reducing CO2 emissions.
The technology is much-discussed by now: carbon dioxide is captured in the combustion process, cooled and converted to liquid form, where it is then transported for final storage underground in geological formations.
“I am very proud of this accomplishment. We have now taken a giant leap forward in energy development,” says Hubertus Altmann, head of the plant that had its official unveiling on 9 September 2008.
It’s a mammoth testing programme that has now got under way at the pilot plant in which Vattenfall has invested EUR 70 million. All processes are tested meticulously.
“Before we can build any plants of a larger scale, we will need answers to all our questions, “ explains Altmann. “We are going through every process to optimise production. Along the way we encounter many minor challenges, but that’s to be expected in a project of this magnitude.”
The pilot plant has a capacity of 30 MW. Nine tonnes of carbon dioxide are captured every hour, or 200 tonnes a day. Starting in spring 2009, the carbon dioxide will be transported to a depleted gas field in Altmark.
“Due to the small volumes, we will initially be using trucks to transport the carbon dioxide to the storage site,” says Altmann. “But in the next development stage, the CO2 will be transported via pipeline. Some of it can also be sold to the chemical industry.”
Vattenfall’s CCS development work began in 2001 in close collaboration with universities and colleges in Dresden and Gothenburg, among other places.
Hubertus Altmann is comfortable with the technology, although he is a bit concerned about public opinion.
“The big challenge is to gain acceptance among the general public for the distribution and storage of the carbon dioxide,” he says. “Many people are positive, but there are also sceptics.”
“At the same time, we have received very good media publicity around the world. We host study visits here every week from delegations interested in learning more about the technology.”
The Schwarze Pumpe pilot plant will be test-run for three years. This will give the engineers time to thoroughly study the technology. By then Vattenfall will be ready for the next phase of CCS development: in 2013 a full-scale demonstration plant with capacity of slightly more than 300 MW will be ready at Nordjyllandsværket in Aalborg, Denmark.
