Policy implications on cost optimal CO2 capture and transportation infrastructure - A case study of Sweden

Paper in proceeding, 2022

This work applies a mixed integer cost minimization model to find cost optimal CO2 capture infrastructure systems, including capture, transport, and storage, applying different incentives for motivating CCS implementation. The work investigates carbon pricing and emission budgets as the main incentive structures and includes a comparison between including or not including BECCS as an offsetting mechanism for fossil CO2. The main fossil and biogenic emission sources in the Swedish industry are used as a case study.
The results show that the inclusion of negative emissions have a large impact on which sites are chosen for capture implementation. Inclusion of negative emissions into policies for CO2 mitigation shifts the focus of CCS implementation from mainly focusing on large fossil point sources to also including large biogenic CO2 emitters and sites emitting a mix of both biogenic and fossil CO2. Inclusion of BECCS as an offsetting mechanism for fossil CO2 into emission budgets also delays the implementation of capture technology, which results in a lower net present value of the system while, on the other hand, leaving large amounts of fossil emissions unmitigated. If the goal is to achieve near-term deployment of BECCS and CCS, it is therefore important to consider that specific policy incentives targeting implementation of these technologies can be crucial to ramp up the use of CCS and BECCS.