Habeck visit: Learning from Norway means saving CO2?

When Economics Minister Habeck visits a cement plant in Norway, it’s about more than the building material: it’s also about separating, liquefying and storing CO2. A visit with a signal effect?

Norcem’s cement plant in Brevik is seen by some as a pilot project for climate protection. The plant, around 150 kilometers southwest of Oslo, will soon make cement production, which is particularly harmful to the climate, cleaner. It is planned to use a chemical process to separate around half of the carbon dioxide in the Brevik plant from the remaining exhaust gas and liquefy it from 2024.

Karin Comstedt Webb from Norcem’s parent company Heidelberg Materials calls CO2 capture on an industrial scale an “important piece of the puzzle” that should help convert the entire construction industry towards CO2 neutrality. And Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck wants to form his own opinion.

Don’t be afraid of CCS

Norway is considered a pioneer in CCS technology. The abbreviation CCS stands for “Carbon Capture and Storage” – i.e. capture and subsequent storage of carbon dioxide underground. The cement plant in Brevik is part of the so-called “Longship” project, which is being funded by the Norwegian government with around 1.6 billion euros.

The aim is to create an entire CCS chain by 2024 and make it ready for the market: capture of CO2 as in the Brevik cement works, transport of the liquefied carbon dioxide and storage in the seabed off the coast of Norway.

Kristin Jordal conducts research on CCS at the Norwegian SINTEF Foundation, headquartered in Trondheim. She emphasizes that the technology works: “We know that we can capture CO2 and then store it in the ground – for a very long time. I think it’s a very useful technology that can be part of the portfolio with which we can fight climate change counteract.

Habeck used to be against it, now interested

The fact that Habeck will now visit the Norcem factory on Friday can be taken as a signal. An evaluation report on the German carbon dioxide storage law has just been presented under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Economics, in which the experts evaluate the CCS technology positively.

The Federal Government wants to develop a so-called “Carbon Management Strategy” this year with a view to implementation options in Germany and Europe. In short: the traffic light government and Habeck are open to CO2 technology, which the Greens have long vehemently rejected.

During his time as a state politician in Schleswig-Holstein, Habeck also took a clear stand against possible CO2 storage off the German coast. That was about ten years ago.

Environmentalists see risks…

The environmental organization Greenpeace still calls CCS a mistake: expensive, risky and inefficient. The long-term safety of potential CO2 repositories has not been proven and there is a risk of devastating leaks. According to Greenpeace, instead of injecting CO2 into repositories, the aim must be to avoid CO2.

CCS opponents can also refer to the so-called London Protocol, an international agreement intended to prevent marine pollution. Article 6 of the Protocol prohibits the Parties from exporting waste for disposal at sea.

There is now an opening clause for CO2 in the London Protocol. However, Germany has not yet ratified this, even though corresponding plans are already in the works. However, the London Protocol on marine protection currently represents a legal hurdle for the transport of liquefied CO2 to Norway.

…as well as need for the technology

Remarkably, the Norwegian environmental organization Bellona nevertheless rates the CCS technology positively. From the point of view of the board member Frederic Hauge, technological solutions are also needed to advance climate protection – especially in the climate-damaging industrial sectors.

“The fact is that we have to halve CO2 emissions in the next ten years,” says Hauge. At the moment the industry blows almost everything up in the air. “We will not be able to achieve the necessary reduction without storing CO2.”

However, the technology is still in its infancy. So far, there have mainly been pilot projects, and the costs are enormous. Proponents of CCS rely on the industrial ramp-up on the one hand and on European emissions trading on the other. It stipulates that the mandatory certificates for CO2 emissions in industry will gradually become more and more expensive.

New business model for Norway?

From a certain certificate price, the CO2 compression could pay off at some point. This could become a new business model for Norway. So far, the country’s wealth has been based primarily on the production of oil and natural gas off its own coast.

So much to talk about for the green economy minister in Norway. Especially since it should also be about future cooperation on green hydrogen. Norway could become one of the important suppliers. The construction of a hydrogen pipeline between the two countries is also being planned. A feasibility study is currently being carried out with the participation of industry. In the long term, green hydrogen is to be used to replace natural gas in the steel and chemical industries, for example.

As the responsible minister, Habeck now bears the main political responsibility for ensuring that Germany achieves its ambitious climate goals – especially in industry. That probably explains the new openness of the CCS technology.

And if there is CCS, it should be politically easier for the Green Economics Minister to transport German carbon dioxide to Norway instead of having it compressed off the German coast. In any case, major protests are not to be expected in Norway.