BECCS — bioenergy with carbon capture and storage — has always been the CDR pathway with the biggest gap between IPCC models (which assume gigatons of it) and real-world deployment (which is basically zero at scale). Norway’s Carbon Centric is trying to close that gap.

Their Project Kirkenær just passed the Puro.earth Preliminary Assessment, validating that its design, monitoring approach, and lifecycle assessment meet the standard’s requirements. It’s not full certification yet — that comes later — but it’s a concrete step toward issuing permanent carbon removal credits (CORCs).

The Setup

The project will bolt a carbon capture facility onto Solør Bioenergi’s existing combined heat and power plant, about 130 km north of Oslo. The CHP plant burns end-of-life wood — demolished buildings, old railway sleepers — to provide district heating.

Carbon Centric’s system will capture CO₂ from the largest boiler’s flue gas using amine technology, then send the purified CO₂ to permanent geological storage. Target: 32,000 tonnes of biogenic CO₂ captured per year.

Why It Matters

BECCS is one of the few CDR approaches that can be net-negative while generating useful energy. Burn waste biomass → capture the biogenic CO₂ → store it permanently → the carbon that was in the atmosphere via the trees never goes back. The district heating is a bonus.

The challenge has always been economics and infrastructure. Carbon Centric is tackling this by:

  1. Using existing CHP plants — no greenfield construction, lower capex
  2. Burning waste wood — no competition with forests or food crops
  3. Targeting certification early — Puro.earth CORCs command premium prices

The European Context

Norway is quietly becoming a BECCS hub. The country has geological storage capacity (Longship/Northern Lights), existing biomass infrastructure, and political will. Carbon Centric also recently secured a long-term CDR agreement with DNV, the maritime and energy classification giant.

Final investment decision is targeted for 2026. If this works, it’s a template that could be replicated across Scandinavia’s many biomass CHP plants.

Source: Carbon Herald

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