Greece looks forward to the possibility of storing CO2 outside the EU, and more specifically in Egypt, as the sequestration of gas emissions consists an effective tool for reducing the carbon footprint of domestic industries. In this context, the government has asked the Commission to review the strategic management of industrial emissions, with the aim of allowing quantities of sequestered carbon dioxide to end up in countries that do not belong to the European Union.
At the same time, the plan to transport CO2 from Greece to Egypt and the prospect of utilizing storage infrastructures to be developed in Egypt, for the storage of emissions by the Greek industries, have been discussed at length in the recent meetings held by the governments of the two countries. According to sources with knowledge of the relevant contacts, with the consultations, ripe ground has been formed for the cooperation of the two countries in this specific field as well.
As the same sources note, the emissions in Greece amount to 15 million tons per year. Currently, the domestic storage under construction, 'Prinos CCS' by Energean, is expected to have a capacity of 3-4 million tonnes per year during its second phase of development. Therefore, the infrastructure will not be enough for the maximum utilization of CCS for the "greening" of industrial catalysts in our country.
The main argument of the Greek side, for the geographical expansion of the storage areas, is that the geology in Southern Europe differs from that in the Northern European states. That practically means that geological structures suitable for CO2 storage are scarce in the Mediterranean countries. In this context, the relevant review of the Commission's strategy will be able to be used by the rest of the countries of the European south, for the management of part of their national emissions.
It is recalled that several domestic industries have CO2 sequestration projects in the works, with the aim of "going green". Thus, TITAN plans to sequester 1.9 million tons of CO2 annually from its factory in Kamari, Viotia, through IFESTOS for which it has received funding from the Innovation Fund.
A similar plan is in the works by HERACLES (Holcim), with an investment of 284.5 million euros through the "Olympus" project, for the introduction of a carbon dioxide capture and storage facility (CCS) -1 million tons annually- at the Milaki cement plant in Evia, incorporating innovative, large-scale carbon capture technologies.
"Olympus" is to be financed with 124.5 million euros from the Innovation Fund. The same applies to Motor Oil's 'IRIS' project, which earmarks for storage the proportion of sequestered CO2 that will not be used to produce low-carbon synthetic methanol. According to information, a plan for capturing and storing CO2 is also in the works for Helleniq Energy, which is intended for implementation at the Elefsina refinery.
source: energypress.gr
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