CMP joins application to the EU for significant funding for CO2 capture project on Amager Bakke, which can contribute to making Copenhagen CO2 neutral by 2025

A facility for the capture of CO₂ will reduce emissions from the Amager Resource Center (ARC) by 500,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually and can thus significantly contribute to the City of Copenhagen’s goal of becoming the world’s first capital city in the world to become carbon-neutral. Copenhagen Malmö Port (CMP) will become a central party in storing and distributing the captured CO₂ to ships that sail the CO₂ to storage in old oil fields in the North Sea. 

The project will be the first of its kind in Denmark and will contribute not only to the City of Copenhagen’s goal of becoming the first carbon-neutral capital in the world by 2025, but also to the national goal of reducing Denmark’s emissions of CO₂ 70 percent by the year 2030. Specifically, an annual reduction of 500,000 tonnes CO₂ will correspond to approx. one percent of Denmark’s total emissions.

As one of the first and crucial steps in the project, at the end of October ARC in collaboration with CMP will submit an application to the climate action EU Innovation Fund to receive funding for both the establishment of the facility, which is scheduled for completion in 2025, and its operations. The amount of financial support being applied for is in the range of DKK 0.5-1 billion, which will finance up to 60 percent of the costs of the establishment of the facility and its operations for the first ten years.

The fact that Amager Bakke and Prøvestenen (which is part of CMP’s commercial port) are located in close proximity to each other, contributes to the good preconditions for a partnership between ARC and CMP. Once the CO₂ is captured, it will be transported via a short pipeline to special tanks at CMP’s nearby terminal on Prøvestenen. From here, the CO₂ will be pumped aboard ships, which sail it further out to the North Sea, where it will be stored in drained and empty underground oil reservoirs.

“CMP is extremely excited to be part of this project, which has a colossal potential to contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions in Copenhagen. For CMP, this is an excellent example of how the port can play an active role in the green transition and be part of new pioneering climate technology, which can hopefully serve as inspiration for similar projects with CO₂ capture not only in Denmark but also abroad. Therefore, I hope that we get a positive response from the EU as a first step on the way to realising the project,” comments Barbara Scheel Agersnap, CEO, Copenhagen Malmö Port.

In addition to the need for financial support, there are a number of other framework conditions that must fall into place before the project can become a reality.

“It is absolutely vital that we have such a strong partner such as CMP on-board the project, which will make Copenhagen the world’s first climate-neutral capital city by 2025. As an added benefit, we can create local, green workplaces and an infrastructure for handling captured CO₂ that potentially can be used by a number of other large CO₂ emitters in the metropolitan area. Therefore, it is urgent to obtain the financing and have the framework conditions in place in a good and close dialogue with our joint owners and Folketinget, the Danish Parliament,” remarks Jacob H. Simonsen, Managing Director of ARC.

For further information, please contact:
Sune Martin Scheibye, Press & Media Contact, ARC
Telephone: +45 24600222

Ulrika Prytz Rugfelt, PR & Corporate Communications Manager, Copenhagen Malmö Port AB
E-mail: ulrika.prytz@cmport.com, Telephone: +46 (0)70 252 00 98.

Facts about Amager Resource Center

• The ARC receives waste from 640,370 inhabitants and 68,000 businesses in the Copenhagen metropolitan area
• ARC emits 560,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, and from 2025 can collect 500,000 tonnes annually if the project’s prerequisites are met.
• ARC is owned by Dragør Municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, Hvidovre Municipality, Tårnby Municipality, and the Municipality of Copenhagen.

Facts about Copenhagen Malmö Port

• CMP is a Danish-Swedish joint venture port operator that operates the ports of Copenhagen and Malmö under the status of “Core Port” in the EU.
• Every year, some 5,200 ships call at CMP’s port, which cover a wide range of business areas.
• CMP handles approx. 15 million tonnes of cargo and more than 1 million cruise passengers annually, making CMP one of the largest cruise ports in Northern Europe.