The EU is shaping a new CO2 market with waste-to-energy at its centre. Discover how voluntary carbon capture could influence emissions and infrastructure across Europe.
Key Takeaways
- The EU aims to establish a new CO2 infrastructure market centred on waste-to-energy, enhancing emissions management.
- Voluntary carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) can create negative emissions and support the circular economy in the waste-to-energy sector.
- Robust infrastructure is crucial to ensure equal access and support diverse transport methods for CO2.
- A stable investment framework is necessary, requiring significant funding for CCUS technology and a vast CO2 pipeline network by 2050.
- CCUS implementation should be voluntary, allowing flexibility for waste-to-energy facilities while driving market-driven innovation.
The European Suppliers of Waste-to-Energy Technology (Eswet) advocates for developing a comprehensive EU CO2 market and infrastructure framework. The organisation emphasises voluntary carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) deployment across all sectors, including waste-to-energy facilities.
Negative Emissions Opportunity
Waste-to-energy with CCUS presents opportunities for negative emissions and circular economy advancement. The EU requires biogenic sources of CO2, positioning the waste-to-energy sector as a key supplier. Approximately 60 per cent of waste-to-energy emissions are biogenic CO2, originating from biomass components including paper, food waste, wood, and natural textiles that originally absorbed CO2 from the atmosphere.
Capturing and permanently storing this CO2 leads to carbon dioxide removal, which can be sold on the market. Research indicates that applying CCUS to 50 per cent of European waste-to-energy capacity, capturing 50 per cent of total CO2 emissions, could deliver net carbon savings of approximately 20 million tonnes CO2 equivalent annually, states Este’s reply.
Infrastructure Requirements
Developing an EU-wide CO2 market requires robust infrastructure ensuring equal access for all suppliers. Key requirements include transparent third-party access rules preventing monopolistic behaviour and pathway exclusion. Multiple transport modes including pipeline, ship, rail, and truck must serve geographically diverse plants.
Recognition of transportation forms different from pipeline is essential for emitters not located near industrial clusters. Non-discriminatory cost allocation must not penalise smaller facilities.
Investment Framework
The framework must provide sufficient certainty to encourage private investment through a stable regulatory environment with clear long-term objectives. Public EU and member state funding should cover capital expenditure and operational costs. Developing CCUS technologies requires expensive investment and must be supported by EU policymakers.
To support CO2 market development, the EU will need 15,000-19,000 km of CO2 pipeline network by 2050 at costs between €9.3-23.1 billion. For waste-to-energy facilities, this requires regional hub development connecting multiple smaller emitters and flexible transport solutions for plants distant from storage sites.
Regulatory Framework
Six EU countries including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands have called for urgent CO2 transport regulatory framework development. This emphasises the need for harmonised technical standards across borders, bilateral agreements facilitating cross-border transport, and recognition of international storage opportunities in Norway and the UK.
The framework should include appropriate risk-sharing mechanisms between public and private sectors. These include insurance and guarantee mechanisms for infrastructure development, clear liability frameworks for transport and storage, and support for addressing cross-chain coordination risks.
Voluntary Implementation
CCUS should remain a voluntary technology choice that enhances waste-to-energy environmental performance without imposing regulatory burdens. This allows technology providers to innovate and compete on merit whilst enabling plant operators to assess implementation based on local conditions including space availability.
Market-driven development rather than regulatory compulsion ensures cost-effective action. Not all waste-to-energy plants are equipped for carbon capture solutions. Energy penalty, location requirements, infrastructure access and overall costs mandate that CCUS integration remains a viable option rather than a legal obligation.
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