The inauguration of this plant is an important step forward and reminds other European countries of the need to keep up.

French utility company Total’s Lacq plant has seen one of its 30 megawatt (MW) gas-fired boilers fitted with oxyfuel technology, whereby the fossil fuel is burned in an atmosphere enriched with oxygen. The resulting exhaust gas is then composed almost entirely of water vapour and CO₂, which can be easily separated and safely stored.

The CCS demonstration plant is due to capture around 120,000 tonnes of CO₂ which will be stored underground in a depleted natural gas reservoir during the next two years. This is the equivalent to the CO₂ that emitted by 40,000 cars over the same period.

Luc de Marliave, Coordinator for Climate Change at Total, said the company chose to test oxyfuel due to its cost saving potential and future economic benefits.

“Our calculations showed that, with oxy-combustion in that type of application, you could reduce the cost of capture – which is a large part of the cost of the CCS chain – around two-thirds of the cost roughly. For just capture, existing post-combustion technologies would cost you something like €70 per tonne of CO₂. Oxy-combustion could reduce this to €35 per tonne,” explained Marliave.

The Lacq demonstration plant will allow for an important expansion in technical know-how regarding the capture, transportation, and storage of CO₂ from oxyfuel plants – knowledge which is an important asset whilst the technology finds itself in its initial phase of deployment.

This fact has prompted a response from representatives from countries such as the UK.   

“CCS remains the most important initiative that needs to be implemented both here and around the world in reducing emissions from coal, gas and oil-fired power stations,” the England and Wales Environment Agency chairman Chris Smith told The Guardian newspaper in a recent interview.

“[But this project] re-emphasises the importance of making sure that Britain takes an early opportunity to put itself in the lead worldwide in taking the technology forward,” he emphasised.

The launch of the demonstration project was preceded by wide-ranging consultation of local stakeholders. Monitoring will continue for three years after the two-year carbon injection period.
View the Total press release here.