“The challenge isn’t always about the technology, but also how to finance it sustainably”—That’s how Anders Brøndum Klein from Green Hub Denmark kicked off the day, when 50 stakeholders from the CCUS industry gathered at Aalborg University’s INNOVATE.
Today’s theme focused on CCUS technology and value chains, with a thorough examination of microeconomics and network-based business models. Louise Brøns Kringelum, associate professor at AAU Business, presented the initial research findings on the development of CCUS value chains. It became clear that isolated projects cannot stand alone; further collaboration across industries and sectors is necessary for success.
Jesper Sand Damtoft, Group Sustainability Director at Aalborg Portland, then provided an update on the company’s CO₂ capture project, which recently received billions in funding from the EU. As chair of INNO-CCUS, he also presented INNO-CCUS as a mission-driven partnership and highlighted the opportunities that a project under this umbrella can open up.
Søren Reinhold Poulsen, Head of Producing Assets and CCS at INEOS Energy Denmark, wrapped up the opening session with a presentation on INEOS’s approach to value chain development in the CCUS industry. He emphasized that partnerships are now being formed in new ways and with new players, which creates a need for new skills.
The two subsequent breakout sessions focused on business models and project development, respectively. Here, participants took part in mini-workshops. The workshop on business models introduced best practices for activity systems within CCUS and gave participants the opportunity to assess their companies’ maturity in this area and connect with other companies at the same level. The project development track was aimed at stakeholders interested in CCUS development, where presentations from the Port of Aalborg and INEOS were followed by a challenge for the participants, who could then discuss possible solutions and potential opportunities.
In conclusion, all participants gathered again to share and highlight key takeaways from the two sessions. Topics such as how to ensure continuity in long-term projects and maintain motivation among partners working on different projects were discussed. Finally, the regulatory challenges that could hinder CCUS development were addressed as a key theme.
This networking event was the first in a series of events, and we can already reveal that the next one will take place on January 30, 2025, with infrastructure as the theme.
