Carbonor and Aker Carbon Capture will Collaborate to Produce Low-Emission Char with Carbon Capture as a Service

Carbonor and Aker Carbon Capture have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop Carbonor’s planned low CO2 char production in Øygarden in western Norway. The project will utilize Aker Carbon Capture’s Just Catch 100 technology integrated with Carbonor’s pyrolysis technology to produce low-emission, high-carbon reductants for the alloy industry. 

The project could become the first in which carbon capture and storage is sold as a service, where the emitter pays a fee based on the volume of carbon captured.

“We are excited to take another step towards our goal of producing low CO2 char while creating sustainable jobs in the new CCS industry in Norway.  Our goal is to commission Carbonor’s new char operations in time for the opening of the Norwegian Longship CCS project with the Northern Lights terminal at Øygarden in May 2024,” says Helene Morne, CEO of Carbonor. “We look forward to benefiting from ACC’s HSE-friendly, compact carbon capture solutions and innovative business models in this project.”

As part of the project, Carbonor and Aker Carbon Capture will establish the full CCS value chain from capture to storage, utilizing leading technology, as well as innovative business models. The companies are already collaborating on CCS solutions for char production. Aker Carbon Capture’s mobile test unit is currently at Carbonor’s site in Poland, testing ACC’s proprietary technology for CO2 capture.

“Bringing our capture technology and business model innovation into the partnership with Carbonor is a great opportunity to advance the application of CCS into new market segments,” said Valborg Lundegaard, Chief Executive Officer of Aker Carbon Capture. The agreement with Carbonor follows Aker Carbon Capture’s recent launch of Carbon Capture as a Service, a truly flexible business model where the full value chain can be delivered within the price of the European CO2 quota system (ETS) or similar relevant reference point. 

“Working with Carbonor will help us accelerate the CCS market,” said Jon Christopher Knudsen, Chief Commercial Officer of Aker Carbon Capture. “A flexible as-a-service offering that unlocks mid-scale emitters across northern Europe, is key to complement the large first of a kind projects that are now underway,” said Knudsen, referring to projects, such as the Brevik CCS project, in which Aker Carbon Capture is delivering its large Big Catch technology capturing 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year at the Norcem Heidelberg Cement plant in Norway.

“Sustainably produced, low CO2 char will be an important enabler of decarbonization for the alloy industries and Carbonor will play a vital role in the drive to reduce CO2 emissions in the Norwegian process industry,” said Tor Morne, Head of Investor Relations at Carbonor.  

The Just Catch 100 is Aker Carbon Capture’s modular and compact carbon capture unit with annual capture capacity of 100,000 tonnes CO2. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covers the development of the Øygarden opportunity and has a validity of four years. 

ENDS