Ørsted, Aker Carbon Capture, and Microsoft have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore ways to support the development of carbon capture and storage at biomass-fired heat and power plants in Denmark.
The three companies will cooperate to address technological, regulatory, and commercial challenges and opportunities for creating negative emissions by capturing and storing carbon emitted by biomass-fired heat and power stations, with each party playing crucial and distinct commercial roles.
Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding, the parties agreed to:
•explore the possibility to jointly develop a negative emission project at one of Ørsted’s biomass plants in Denmark, potentially using Northern Lights where Microsoft is an existing partner
•explore a technology collaboration to integrate Microsoft’s digital expertise into a biogenic carbon capture project with Aker Carbon Capture’s health, safety & environment (HSE) friendly capture technology
•explore ways for Microsoft, Aker Carbon Capture, and Ørsted to jointly accelerate the development of a biogenic carbon capture project
•explore and establish advocacy of policies that help accelerate the negative emission frameworks in European countries.
Even though Ørsted foresees that technologies based on renewable power will replace a substantial part of bioenergy in the district heating towards 2040, it expects carbon capture at a number of biomass-fired units to play an important role in the energy transition.