Fortum, Kvaerner Eye Carbon Capture Plans
Fortum is investigating the possibility of carbon capture and storage (CCS) plants under a broad co-operation agreement with Norwegian engineering firm Kvaerner, the Finnish state entity said March 2.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to identify projects and opportunities for technical and commercial co-operation. “One opportunity to be evaluated is the potential realisation of new and very much needed carbon capture plants.” It said. The initial idea is waste-to-energy plants, of which CO2 would be a by-product.
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
CCS is very well suited for combating climate change and creating a cleaner world,” said Fortum's CEO Pekka Lundmark.
“Carbon capture and storage facilities will be a significant focus area for Kvaerner moving forward, and it is a great advantage for us to be partnering up with Fortum,” said Kvaerner CEO Karl-Petter Loken.
Separately, Fortum is nearing the end of the approvals process for its controlling stake in German utility Uniper: it is adding another 20% to its holding from shares owned by Elliott Management Corporation and Knight Vinke Energy Advisors. This gives it about 70%. It said March 2 that it has approval from Russia's federal antimonopoly service (FAS), which formalises the government commission’s decision to allow it to control Unipro, Uniper’s power-generation subsidiary in Russia.
Fortum is now able to buy Uniper “as long it does not exercise control in Russian subsidiary Unipro until certain changes to the country's law on strategic investments, now in the legislative process, have entered into force,” it said.
Fortum still needs a customary merger control clearance in Russia, which it expects in the coming weeks. The required merger clearance decision from the US was given in December 2019.
Fortum said that the approval was “an important step towards the creation of a leader in the European energy transition that provides attractive opportunities for both companies. As previously stated, with closing we will seek to drive closer strategic alignment of the two companies including through further supervisory board representation,” said Lundmark.
Lundmark will be leaving Fortum later this year but “our strategy and approach with regard to our acquisition of Uniper remains entirely unchanged,” said the chairman of Fortum’s board of directors, Matti Lievonen.
Like other European utilities, Uniper has already embarked on the decarbonisation path and it is planning to unveil its longer-term strategy March 10. This will involve conversion to gas, which is the fastest way to achieve carbon savings in power generation, industry, space heating and transport, and could help Europe cut carbon emissions by up to 65%.
Another scheme is green hydrogen, where renewable energy provides the power for electrolysis and results in a wholly renewable energy source that can be used in a wide range of applications, from intensive-industry, transport and heating.