Energy company Vantaan Energia and the Port of Helsinki have announced they are working on Finland's first industrial-scale carbon dioxide capture and storage project.
According to the company, the joint effort will help to significantly reduce emissions and "create a value chain in Finland that enables new business".
The carbon capture and storage (CCS) process involves capturing carbon dioxide generated by the thermal treatment of waste and then storing it permanently.
"The project is taking a big leap forward, as now there is agreement that the liquefaction, intermediate storage and shipping of carbon dioxide will take place at Vuosaari Harbour," Vantaan Energia's press release announced, referring to Eastern Helsinki's busy shipping harbour.
"Carbon dioxide will be captured at Vantaan Energia's waste-to-energy plant and transported to the port to await shipment. At the port, the carbon dioxide will be liquefied and bunkered onto a ship designed to withstand high pressures and low temperatures," it explained.
The company said the carbon dioxide would be taken to the North Sea, for example, for permanent storage in geological formations.
It noted that the project will require "extensive funding" from Finland and the EU. The energy firm is majority-owned by the City of Vantaa.
"We are very pleased with the cooperation and the site at the Port of Helsinki. The project would not be possible without partners and support. The undisputed advantage of Vuosaari Harbour is its central location," said Kalle Patomeri, Vantaan Energia's SVP of circular economy business.
"Vuosaari Harbour has excellent road and rail connections and is only six kilometers from Vantaan Energia's waste-to-energy plant," his statement in the release continued.
