Baltic CCS project gains EU recognition

A cement carbon capture project in Lithuania and Latvia has been granted Project of Common Interest (PCI) status by the European Commission, recognising it as a project that will significantly contribute to EU energy policy and climate goals, reports the Lithuanian News Agency. The project has been developed by CCS Baltic Consortium, consisting of Akmenes cementas AB, KN Energies AB, Larvik Shipping AS, Mitsui OSK Lines and SCHWENK Latvija SIA.

The consortium was formed in 2022 with the purpose of creating a carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chain in Lithuania and Latvia, including the capture of CO₂ generated in the industrial sector and onshore and offshore transportation to permanent storage sites. Analysis and feasibility studies have already been carried out, with the project due to commence operations in 2030. 

“This area is particularly relevant in sectors for which a quick transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy resources is difficult, for example in our industry – cement production. What’s more, CCS is one of the most advanced technological solutions that could significantly contribute to the decarbonisation of the cement industry,” said Arturas Zaremba, CEO, Akmenes cementas.

Reinhold Schneider, CEO of SCHWENK Northern Europe, added, “Carbon capture is simultaneously one of our industry’s key tasks for the next decade, a major technical challenge and a pre-condition to the sustainability of and, ultimately, to the competitiveness of the GHG-intensive industrial sites like ours. To enable both processing and storage of the hopefully soon-to-be-sequestered CO₂, we need to partner with relevant experienced industry players who know how to handle and deliver this GHG at great quantities. Hence we are part of CCS Baltic Consortium which seeks to set up respective infrastructure and provide an option for CO₂ captured in the Baltics to be permanently stored offshore or brought to processing hubs.”