The Norwegian-British cooperation declaration on hydrogen and carbon capture was signed in London on Wednesday last week. – Here we can benefit from each other, says Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) in an official statement. The minister himself was supposed to be in London, but had to cancel the trip in order to devote himself to handling the Fosen case. In his absence, the agreement was signed by Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap). Research Minister Ola Borten Moe (Sp), who in January compared the hydrogen investment to “sending power straight into the ass”, was not present. But it was HRH Crown Prince Haakon Magnus, who stated that “we must work hard to replace fossil fuels with cleaner energy sources” and that “we need innovation and cooperation, smart leaders and tough decision-makers”. What is carbon capture? Carbon capture and storage, also referred to as CO₂ handling, is a measure to separate out carbon dioxide (CO₂) from a gas stream with subsequent storage of the carbon dioxide in a permanent way. The purpose is to counteract unwanted climate change by reducing the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Source: snl.no The Crown Prince shone when the Norwegian-British cooperation declaration on hydrogen and carbon capture was signed in London this week. Photo: TOM HANSEN / TOM HANSEN Great Britain has ambitions to become a “clean energy superpower” before the end of the decade, and both Norway and Great Britain must be carbon neutral by 2050. – For us locally, this provides additional opportunities to develop new green jobs , says Tom Georg Indrevik (H), who is mayor of Øygarden (more reactions below). – I think the collaboration can be economically valuable Goran Durakovic, PhD student at NTNU, researching the possibilities for Norway in the European green shift – It is good to see that this collaboration is becoming more concrete and closer. Norway has been researching carbon capture for a long time, and it has started to pay off. We see that in the Langskip project, and more broadly in the Northern Lights venture, and now this agreement. The UK has a lot in common with Norway when it comes to the offshore industry, so they are guaranteed to be interested in learning something from the Norwegian ventures. At the same time, Norwegian companies, such as Equinor, are also very involved in the British energy system, both in the form of oil and gas, and offshore wind. I think this collaboration can therefore be very economically valuable for Norway when it is realized in the development of projects – regardless of whether it takes place on the Norwegian or British continental shelf. Ola Elvestuen, Left – It is good to have closer cooperation with the UK on hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, but the most important thing the government must do to drive development forward is to use carbon capture and storage where necessary in Norway. It is pointless if the government allows Equinor to use up all the power surplus in northern Norway to electrify Melkøya when carbon capture and storage is an available and cost-effective solution. They must make demands on the petroleum industry that they must to a much greater extent solve their own emission problems with their own technology. Carbon capture and storage is a well-known available technology. Sigrun Aasland, leader of Zero – It is good to collaborate on rolling out important climate technologies. In addition, the Norwegian government must learn from Britain how important contracts for difference are for the realization of offshore wind, hydrogen and CCs. Benedicte Solaas, Director of Offshore Norway – This is very good news and shows that the work the industry is doing on the Norwegian continental shelf is important for Europe to reach its climate goals and for us to be a long-term supplier of energy with low emissions, both from production of oil and gas and low-emission solutions such as hydrogen and CO2 capture and storage. This underlines that Norway is an attractive cooperation partner and underlines the need to further develop the Norwegian continental shelf. The plan is for the CO2 to be buried in the red area. The amount of CO2 from Norway could fill a tiny patch of Mjøsa every year. Look at the red dot! If we were to help Europe reach the two-degree target, we could fill the entire Mjøsa every year. There is enough space in the sea outside Norway, according to the authorities. Ship loaded with CO₂ Øygarden outside Bergen plays a central role in the prestigious Langskip project. From here, the “captured carbon” will be pumped through pipes onto the shelf, where it will in turn be stored 2,600 meters below the seabed. Expected costs for Langskip, which the energy minister characterizes as “the largest climate project in Norwegian industrial history”, are calculated at NOK 27.6 billion in 2022. When Prime Minister Erna Solberg laid the foundation stone in Øygarden in 2021, she emphasized that she did not want to use the word “moon landing”. The concept took on an ironic value after the plans for a full-scale purification plant at Mongstad collapsed in 2013. The purification plant at Mongstad was sold as a “moon landing” in Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s New Year’s speech in 2007. Photo: news Equinor was encouraged to look at alternatives On a breakfast meeting organized by Bellona this week, Equinor was encouraged to look at alternatives to electrify Melkøya. In December, Equinor submitted an application to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to decommission the gas-fired power plant outside Hammerfest, and replace it with electricity from the grid. The aim is to cut carbon emissions, but the measure will double the power demand in Finnmark and has caused political unrest. – Everything indicates that carbon capture and storage is cheaper, faster and takes up less space than Equinor claims, said Eivind Berstad in Bellona during the breakfast. In the Storting, the Liberal Party has submitted a proposal that emission cuts on Melkøya must be taken with carbon capture instead of electrification. – It is meaningless if the government allows Equinor to use up the power surplus in northern Norway to electrify Melkøya when carbon capture is available, says Ola Elvestuen (V). – The Norwegian-British cooperation declaration is an important and decisive agreement for the further development of carbon capture and large-scale hydrogen production, says Tom Georg Indrevik (H). Here together with the manager of Raudt, Bjørnar Moxnes. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news SV has promoted the same wish. – CO₂ capture and storage stands out as the best measure both to cut emissions and to avoid conflicts with reindeer herding, said Lars Haltbrekken (SV) during the breakfast meeting (see the whole meeting here). Equinor, for its part, believes that there is no space for a carbon capture plant on Melkøya, and that it will be too expensive. – We have studied and analyzed this for nine years, and have concluded that electrification is the best solution, says Gisle Ledel Johannessen in Equinor (extended answer below). – Carbon capture has a much higher cost of action Gisle Ledel Johannessen, Equinor – We have spent nine years of studies, analyzes and project development to further develop Hammerfest LNG and the Snøhvit partnership has concluded that land compression and electrification is the best solution. In an earlier phase, we studied various solutions to reduce CO2 emissions from Melkøya, which was a requirement from the approval to the governing authorities of the original PUD from 2002. A full CCs solution was studied in 2009–2010 following a demand from MDIR for an explanation . The analysis concluded that a conversion of the plant for such a solution would be complex and extensive with associated high costs. It will also require a large area and entail a longer period of shutdown of the plant. In 2017–2018, it was again investigated whether full CCs from existing gas turbines on Melkøya could be an alternative, with corresponding conclusions: the complexity and cost of rebuilding and integrating the capture facility and infrastructure for full CCs has a much higher cost of action than the electrification alternative. It was therefore decided not to investigate this option further. Equinor’s Melkøya facility processes and freezes gas from the Snøhvit field so that it can be sold on the world market. Photo: Aibel – The phasing in of hydrogen has been stalled The Norwegian-British declaration of cooperation joins a series of new energy agreements with several trading partners. In January, Norway and Germany agreed that Norwegian gas will produce hydrogen for export to the German market. – The phasing in of hydrogen has been stalled because there is no system for production and distribution at competitive prices, says Erlend Bullvåg, who is the director of Kunnskapsparken Bodø. He believes that “greater speed in the hydrogen investment” is a prerequisite for decarbonising the industry and meeting the requirements of the Paris Agreement. – It is important, because electrification alone is not enough. CO2 to be captured from two Norwegian factories each year: 800,000 tonnes. This corresponds to one year’s emissions from approximately 400,000 passenger cars. Or 3.5 million Oslo-London return flights (per passenger). But to reach the two-degree target, Europe must capture 1 billion tonnes. And the world 10 billion tonnes.
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Norway and Great Britain strengthen energy cooperation – news Vestland
