Brussels, 20/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 15 March the first inauguration of the world's largest pilot plant for demonstrating and validating new technology for the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from conventional power stations will take place. The pilot at the Elsam power station near Esbjerg, Denmark has been named CASTOR and is the result of research carried out with the support of the EU's Research Framework Programme.
In a press release sent out last week the European Commission indicated that by signing the Kyoto protocol the EU committed was committed to reducing CO2 emissions. Projections show that fossil fuels will continue to provide about 85% of our energy for the foreseeable future. Therefore carbon capture technology can help reduce emissions now, as the world works to move towards an energy economy with almost no carbon emissions. This technology is a perfect complement to the hydrogen-based strategy as it can produce CO2-free hydrogen from fossil fuels. A Commission press release indicated that carbon capture and storage works by capturing carbon dioxide emissions as they are produced by power stations and then storing them underground, so that they cannot interact with the atmosphere and produce the greenhouse effect. They are best applied to large facilities such as coal power plants and oil refineries. The CASTOR project, funded from the Sixth Framework Programme for Research, is unveiling the first pilot plant to test how these technologies work in practice. It is hoped that this demonstration project will allow scientists to improve the technological processes involved in carbon capture, provide a means for better understanding of the process among the public and consolidate Europe's position as a leader in this scientific field. While the plant at Elsam will be the first such pilot, the field of carbon capture and storage is a long-term priority for the European Commission and the sector as a whole. Last December saw the launch of a European Technology Platform on Zero Emissions Fossil Fuel Power Plants, which brings together all those with an interest in the development of this technology, from across industry and including environmental groups, to establish a strategic research agenda. The EU will also be looking to work with international partners, as shown by the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese Government on Near Zero Emission Power Plant Technology.