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Four Fortum projects shortlisted for EU innovation funding in low-carbon technologies

26 March 2021, 13:30 EET

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FORTUM CORPORATION ONLINE RELEASE 26.3.2021

Carbon capture and storage on district heating, sustainable battery chemicals from secondary raw materials, utilisation of different recycled carbon sources and captured CO2 for methanol circular production in the chemical industry. The four Fortum projects that have made it through to the shortlist of 70 candidates for financing from the EU’s EUR 1 billion first Innovation Fund call especially showcase sustainable solutions that enable sector integration. 

The Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest funding programs for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies and increased circularity. The aim fits well with Fortum’s strategy which targets carbon neutrality in the European fleet by 2035. 

Having both the CCS project initiated by Fortum Oslo Värme and the BECCS project developed by Stockholm Exergi, both utilities co-owned by Fortum, on the shortlist is both a recognition of the projects as such and an acknowledgement of CCS as an essential technology to achieve significant carbon dioxide emission reductions. In Oslo’s case, the annual reduction from waste incineration is 360,000 tons annually. In Stockholm, capturing 800,000 tons annually from bioenergy district heating will creating negative emissions on the same scale. 

Also shortlisted are Fortum Recycle & Waste’s project producing sustainable battery chemicals from secondary raw materials on an industrial scale level and project AIR. The latter is a joint project between Fortum, Uniper, and Perstorp. In the project we will utilize different recycled carbon sources together with captured CO2 and fossil-free hydrogen based on electrolysis of wastewater for methanol circular production, replacing Perstorp’s existing feedstock of 200,000 tons of fossil methanol, which is used as raw material in their production. It will reduce carbon dioxide emissions with 500,000 tons annually. 

We want to recognize the teams and the effort that has been put in these projects so far as they well represent the combination of innovative thinking and hard work that will enable us to reach the Paris Agreement targets by 2050. 

The next step for the best ranked 70 projects is now to submit a full application for the second stage by 23 June 2021. The rewarded projects will be known by the end of 2021, after the second evaluation round is completed. 

Fortum Corporation 
Group Communications 

Further intormation:
Fortum News Desk, newsdesk [at] fortum [dot] com, +358 40 198 2843