Norway-headed pure-play carbon capture company Aker Carbon Capture AS has announced that it has been awarded a feasibility study and an eight-month test campaign to explore the capture of carbon dioxide emissions from Germany-headed chemical major Wacker Chemie AG’s (WACKER) metallurgical-grade silicon production at its Holla plant in Kyrksæterøra, Norway.
Silicon metal is one of WACKER’s most important raw materials for producing two key products in its portfolio: silicones and hyperpure polysilicon.
Currently, the silicon metal produced in Holla covers around one-third of demand at WACKER’s sites in Germany.
The company has set a goal to halve its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and be net zero by 2045.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is seen as a means to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
We are proud to collaborate with WACKER, a pioneer of modern chemistry, on their journey towards net zero. The test campaign will provide valuable learning for the implementation of our carbon capture technology in a new industry. Additionally, the feasibility study will explore the commercial application of the technology at the Holla plant. Together we see carbon capture as a significant opportunity to reduce Norway’s CO2 emissions, said Tove Ormevik, Director of Delivery Functions and Aftermarket at Aker Carbon Capture.
Reducing industrial emissions
Reducing emissions from process industries is an important contributor to meeting the Norwegian climate target of 55 percent GHG emissions reduction by 2030 relative to 1990 levels.
According to Statistics Norway, the process industry represents approximately 20 percent of the total Norwegian GHG emissions, with 12 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq) in 2022.
The European Commission recently presented a 90 percent net GHG emissions reduction proposal compared to 1990 levels as the recommended target for 2040.
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is a solution to significantly reduce emissions from hard-to-abate sectors, such as cement, waste incineration, bioenergy, and other process industries such as the metallurgical sector.
Mobile test unit
Aker Carbon Capture’s Mobile Test Unit is a complete CO2 capture plant that includes the company’s advanced carbon capture technology, meaning that the results from test campaigns are scalable toward large-scale plants.
It is transportable, flexible, and can operate on different flue gases. Aker Carbon Capture has more than 35,000 operating hours on different flue gases from around the world.
