Cross-border CO₂ infrastructure options for a CCS demonstration in Finland

As the geographic situation of Finland seems to allow no domestic carbon sequestration, cross-border CO₂ logistics is needed. In this paper, the alternative transportation options for CO₂ from a Finnish capture plant case are assessed. The assessment includes selection of the most favourable storage areas, route planning for both ship and pipeline transportation, and cost estimates for both alternatives. An actual CCS demonstration is planned by the proprietor power companies of the chosen case plant, a coal condensing power plant on the coast of Western Finland, giving an interesting opportunity to discuss the results in the light of the current development of the demonstration plant. Transportation costs are presented for a ship transportation chain from the case plant to the North Sea and for a pipeline running towards the coast of the Barents Sea. The storage areas were chosen because of the potential storage capacity and currently operational injection activities in both regions. Pipeline transportation is found considerably more expensive than ship transportation as an option for CO ₂ transportation from the case demonstration plant to the different storage sites. The levelized costs of shipping the captured CO₂ to the geological formations under the North Sea are estimated to amount to 11,8 €/tCO₂, excluding the costs for liquefaction. Matching a CO ₂ source within EU to a sink outside EU depends on a consistent regulatory framework. In addition to accountability of emissions allowances within the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), the issues include liabilities of CO₂ handling and storage, other legislation both on national and on Community level as well as international maritime conventions.