Last March, the Clean Energy Forum. During her intervention, the Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Competition, Margrethe Vestagertook the opportunity to ask the countries of the European Union to take another step when it comes to extending their energy policies.
More specifically, he encouraged them to promote public aid to promote technologies and tools to capture and store CO2 present in the atmosphere, in order to make it a viable alternative from a commercial point of view.
Vestager pointed out as examples the Netherlands and Denmark, since these types of policies are already being promoted from their institutions. “Of course, we hope others will follow.”
Path to decarbonization
This will of Brussels is linked to the decarbonization objectives maintained by the European Union for 2050.
And the capture and storage of carbon dioxide can play a fundamental role in moving towards that horizon of a cleaner world.
The technique consists of capture CO2 where it originatessuch as in an industrial plant.
It would be separated from other gases that have been produced during the process and transported, through pipes or compressed in high pressure vesselsto a place where it can be stored.
These spaces can be very varied: from the bottom of the oceans to geological or mineral deposits underground.
Furthermore, it is also possible to ruse carbon dioxide as a reagent from another process.
However, This whole procedure is somewhat expensive and there is still much to be developed. Hence, the European Commission, represented by Vestager, urges member countries to provide public aid for research on this type of techniques.
“State aid measures are aimed so that they reach where the market does not reach“said Vestager, before adding that public financing “can help the development of renewable and low-carbon energy sources.”