Germany unlikely to roll out CCS due to costs – industry

Cost concerns, a lack of available storage space and technological limitations will likely restrict carbon capture and storage (CCS) to being a niche industry in Germany, industry leaders told Montel.

The incoming government – a coalition of the centre-right Christian Democrats alliance (CDU/CSU) and centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) – urged the use of CCS in its coalition agreement released earlier this month.

However, VDMA Power Systems, the country’s power plant manufacturers association, said CCS – involving the process of capturing CO2 formed during power generation from a natural gas power plant and storing it – may not be needed.

“The members of the VDMA see the use of CCS with gas-fired power plants… less in Germany for now and more in countries where hydrogen is expensive and gas is affordable, as well as where affordable carbon dioxide storage is available,” said Dennis Rendschmidt, managing director of the group.

“Cost-intensive”

Germany’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2045 relies upon building alternatives to coal-fired power plants, which are set to close by 2038.

The new government’s agreement calls for the construction of 20 GW of gas-fired power plants by 2030, a switch from the outgoing government’s goal of building 10.5 GW of hydrogen-ready power plants.

These plants are only expected to operate in periods of waning renewable output. However, Rendschmidt said the cost of CCS only made it economic for plants operating constantly.

The fact that the government said the plants were needed by 2030 added another complication, he said, since integrating CCS capacity required more time and complexity. There are still no laws in place governing how to transport and store carbon dioxide in Germany.

He also noted CCS with gas-fired plants was “cost-intensive” and also required “almost as much space as the power plant”.

Hydrogen instead?

Given the hurdles for CCS, Germany’s DVGW water and gas industry association said it expected the incoming government to focus on hydrogen-ready plants, despite not referring to them in its coalition agreement.

That would mean that “we wouldn’t need CCS technology for gas-fired power plants. Instead, we will live with reduced emissions during this transition period,” said Gerald Linke, DVGW president.

Timm Kehler, chairman of the Gas and Hydrogen Industry organisation, noted no specific agreement on CCS for power plants had been made.

“Looking at the technological and economic guidelines, there’s a lot in favour of an approach where CCS, if it’s used for power plants at all, only makes sense and is only employed in selected cases,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UK aims for a near GBP 22bn funding commitment will take CCS projects commercially viable but questions remain over how these projects will be delivered.

source: montel news