Microsoft Strikes Agreement for Removal of 1.1 Million Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide via Waste-to-Energy Carbon Capture Technologies
In a significant move towards combating climate change, Norway's Hafslund Celsio, operator of the Klemetsrud waste-to-energy facility in Oslo, is set to launch a carbon capture project in 2029. This project, part of the Norwegian Government's Longship full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration project, aims to capture approximately 350,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, with the potential to reduce the City of Oslo's annual emissions by 20%.
The new carbon capture project at the Klemetsrud facility will capture half of the CO2 emissions from biogenic sources, and the remainder from fossil sources. The captured CO2 will then be transported by ship to the Northern Lights facility, a transportation, reception, and permanent storage hub for CO2. At the Northern Lights facility, the CO2 will be temporarily stored at an onshore receiving terminal before being transported via pipeline to injection wells on the seabed of the Norwegian Continental Shelf for safe, permanent storage approximately 2,600 meters under the North Sea seabed.
The Northern Lights facility plays a crucial role in enabling the captured CO2 from Hafslund Celsio and other industrial partners, such as Heidelberg Materials, to be securely and permanently sequestered underground, thereby preventing its release into the atmosphere and significantly contributing to Norway's and Europe's climate goals.
Microsoft, a leading global technology company, has shown support for Hafslund Celsio's role in Project Longship and has announced a new carbon removal offtake agreement with the Norwegian company for more than 1 million tons of carbon credits over ten years. This is one of several large-scale carbon credit deals by Microsoft, making them the largest corporate buyer of carbon removal credits globally.
In addition, Microsoft has announced two multi-million-ton carbon credit deals in the past week. Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy & Carbon Removal at Microsoft, has expressed appreciation for Hafslund Celsio's role in Project Longship and their support for the project's development.
Excess energy from the Klemetsrud waste-to-energy facility is used to produce electricity and heat. The carbon capture project at Hafslund Celsio's facility also aims to provide heating for the city of Oslo while helping Norway meet its climate goals.
The Klemetsrud waste-to-energy facility incinerates approximately 350,000 metric tons of sorted residual waste each year. The carbon credits created from the biogenic emissions removal will contribute to reducing the City of Oslo's annual emissions by 20%.
This project is expected to serve as a model that can be replicated in the 500 other waste-to-energy plants in Europe, marking a significant step towards global efforts to combat climate change.
- Science and technology play pivotal roles in the Klemetsrud carbon capture project, as technology is used to capture and transport carbon dioxide, and science helps optimize the process for carbon removal.
- The success of Project Longship, which includes Hafslund Celsio's carbon capture project, is not limited to environmental science; it also involves finance and business, with Microsoft investing in carbon removal credits as part of their corporate strategy.
- As part of a broader commitment to climate-change mitigation, this carbon capture project in Oslo combines waste management and environmental science, with the goal of reducing emissions, providing heat for the city, and potentially serving as a blueprint for carbon removal initiatives in European waste-to-energy plants.
