The European Commission has granted the status of Project of Common Interest to the carbon dioxide  capture and transportation project in Lithuania and Latvia developed by the consortium named CCS Baltic Consortium. The consortium consists of Akmenės cementas AB, KN Energies, AB, Larvik Shipping AS, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. and SCHWENK Latvija SIA.

This grant means that the project is recognized as a key cross-border infrastructure project which will significantly contribute to the implementation of the energy policy and climate goals of the European Union (EU). There are only 14 CO₂ infrastructure projects listed in this award round as either PCI or Project of Mutual Interest (PMI) which is for key projects between the EU and non-EU countries. PCI and PMI can benefit from a number of advantages including eligibility for financial support named Connecting Europe Facility.

The consortium was formed in 2022 with the purpose to create a carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chain in Lithuania and Latvia, which would include capture of CO₂ generated in the industrial sector and onshore and offshore transportation to permanent storage sites. Many works such as analysis, feasibility studies and applications for this grant have been completed for the project, with commencement of operations scheduled in 2030. The PCI grant will surely accelerate future activities for materialization of the project.

Currently in Lithuania as well as in neighbouring Poland and Latvia, underground CO₂ storage is prohibited. Therefore, CCS can become an important option for companies in these countries facing challenges to achieve their decarbonization goals solely through process optimization. The consortium hopes that the CCS value chain created by the project will be used widely in the region and will contribute to resolution of climate issues on a larger scale

Comment from Akmenės cementas, CEO, Artūras Zaremba
“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”

Comment from KN Energies, CEO, Darius Šilenskis
“The project launched by the ‘CCS Baltic Consortium” is the first one of its kind in the Baltic region. In contrast, the rest of Europe has already progressed in exploring the prospects of carbon capture as a viable decarbonization option. Teaming up with partners in the ‘CCS Baltic Consortium,’ we’re committing to creating a sustainable carbon capture and storage value chain, contributing to EU’s energy and climate goals. Also this initiative reflects KN dedication to a more sustainable future”

Comment from Larvik Shipping, Managing Director, Espen Tollevik
“Larvik Shipping is honored to be part of the CCS Baltic Consortium. With a unique track record of safe and reliable carriage of liquified CO₂ by ship over the past 35 years of our operations, we look forward to bringing our experience in the sector to benefit the Baltic CCS project and emitters across the region”

Comment from Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Executive Officer, Suryan Wirya-Simunovic
“We are very grateful that our continuous activities have been evaluated in the form of PCI grant. We, as a shipping company and an interconnector of CCS value chain, will devote ourselves to offering flexible and sustainable solutions so that the project can take on an important role in decarbonization of the Baltic area and more widely Europe.”

Comment from SCHWENK Latvija, CEO of SCHWENK Northern Europe, Reinhold Schneider
“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 CO₂captured in the Baltics to be permanently stored offshore or brought to processing hubs.”