Beccs 'interesting business model' for German biomass

: Biomass, Emissions
24/11/29

Costs for generating negative CO2 emissions through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (Beccs) technology in Germany are €103.43/t of CO2 on average for woody biomass, initial results of an unpublished study commissioned by the country's bioenergy association BBE suggests.

The average cost of €103.43/t applies to 1t of liquid CO2, which meets food purity standards. This could be the foundation of an interesting future business model for biomass plants, if negative emissions are incorporated into the EU emissions trading system and gain traction as a counterbalance to Germany's residual "hard-to-abate" greenhouse gas emissions, BBE's wood energy consultant, Tim Pettenkofer, said this week.

A 20.5MW biomass cogeneration plant could raise its revenues by about 13pc by investing in Beccs, study co-author Lennart Reese of Seeger Engineering suggested. The plant operator would go from annual power revenues of €5.5mn, assuming annual running hours of 8,000 and a power price of €125/MWh, to about €6.2mn, assuming a CO2 price of €120/t. The calculations assume an annuity of 10pc and take into account other factors such as lost earnings from the power volumes used to sequester and liquefy the CO2.

Electricity for liquefaction is the biggest cost item of the Beccs process, with Seeger Engineering putting average costs at €28.75/t of CO2.

The final study will also look into the costs for Beccs from biogas and bioethanol plants.

Beccs costs in the solid biomass segment will be highest, as its tailpipe CO2 intensity is about 10-15pc, the CO2 not being a by-product of a production process and therefore necessitating additional investment in flue gas cooling and sequestration technology.

The CO2 intensity for biomethane and bioethanol plants is about 25-45pc and 95pc, respectively.

Germany's government estimates the country's residual and hard-to-abate emissions will stand at about 50mn t of CO2 equivalent by 2045.

An earlier study by BBE estimated potential for 10.7mn t/yr of CO2 negative emissions from Beccs with existing bioenergy plants in Germany, or 12.9mn t/yr of CO2 based on expected future availability.

By Chloe Jardine

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25/05/21

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