In a recently published report, ‘The Nordics as Europe’s Carbon Removal Hub’, the Nordic Carbon Removal Association and Implement Consulting Group have found that the strengths possessed by the Nordic region would allow it to host feasible CDR activities at the lowest cost. However, the achievement of this goal is contingent upon the extent to which the CDR actors can engage in national and international collaborations with a view to taking goal-oriented actions and the obstacles preventing the imminent growth of the CDR sector can be overcome.
Key takeaways:
- The Nordics can potentially lead the implementation of CDR methods at the global level due to the physical and regulatory advantages they possess.
- The Nordic states possess the following physical advantages:
- A considerable amount of biogenic CO2 emissions are released in the Nordic states, rendering them a suitable location for the employment of Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (‘BECCS’).
- The Nordic states are home to a significant volume of residue biomass, which are used for biochar production.
- In the Nordic states there is an abundance of the minerals that are utilized for Enhanced Rock Weathering (‘ERW’), namely basalt, olivine and glacier.
- One of the largest geological storage sites, essential for the cost-effective deployment of BECCS and Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (‘DACCS’), are located in the Nordics.
- A significant portion of the European low-carbon electricity is produced in the Nordic states. This feature, coupled with the fact that Nordic electricity costs are much lower compared to the European average, provide Nordic states with a competitive edge in view of the significant cost burden electricity requirements place on CDR deployment.
- The presence of sophisticated heating systems in the urban areas of Nordic states would further lower the costs of CDR deployment.
- The Nordic states have the following regulatory advantages:
- The Nordic states excluding Norway seek to achieve net-zero prior to the EU that has declared its willingness to obtain this goal by 2050.
- A number of Nordic countries have stressed the importance of CDR for the achievement of net-zero.
- One of the first large subsidy and assistance programs aimed at catalyzing BECCS deployment and the ensuing storage efforts have been introduced in the Nordic countries.
- The Nordic stakeholders are perceived as actors with a higher likelihood of successfully implementing BECCS, Biochar and ERW compared to actors that do not operate in the Nordics.
- A number of CDR projects and companies located in the Nordics are deemed word-leading.
- The cost-efficiency of CDR deployment in the Nordics can only be ensured if different Nordic countries can act together to leverage the different strengths that they have been endowed with in terms of physical potential (i.e. the presence of point sources, storage capacity, low electricity costs and sea access).
- Unleashing the CDR potential of Nordic countries would generate considerable economic advantages by creating new jobs, incentivizing economic growth, increasing the regional GDP and enabling the exportation of CDR technologies.
- However, there are several obstacles that stand in the way of the uptake of CDR in the Nordics:
- There are ambiguities surrounding the extent to which CDR activities are suitable for generating revenue.
- The existing methods that are utilized to store and transport CO2 have a low level of readiness.
- The rules governing CDR activities are not sufficiently simple and there are a number of difficulties with obtaining permits.
- There are no unified measurement, reporting and verification (‘MRV’) standards applicable to different CDR methods and novel CDR methods do not benefit from any certification schemes.
- There is a certain degree of societal backlash against technological CDR methods due to their perceived intricacy, costliness and ties to industrialization that has contributed to climate change.
Read the full report here:The Nordics as Europe’s carbon removal hub | Implement