Large-scale carbon storage facility planned at Vuosaari Harbour

Energy company Vantaan Energia and Port of Helsinki will set up Finland's first industrial-scale carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage facility at Vuosaari Harbour, said an official press release on Wednesday.

The Vantaa Carbon Capture project will significantly reduce fossil emissions and create a value chain in Finland that enables new business.

According to the agreement, the liquefaction, intermediate storage and shipping of carbon dioxide will take place at Vuosaari Harbour.

In carbon capture, the carbon dioxide generated during the thermal treatment of waste is captured and permanently stored.

The port and its operations are a key part of the process. Carbon dioxide will be captured at Vantaan Energia’s Waste-to-energy plant and transported to the port to await shipment.

At the port, the carbon dioxide will be liquefied and bunkered onto a ship designed to withstand high pressures and low temperatures.

The carbon dioxide will be transported to the North Sea, for example, where it will be permanently stored in geological formations. Permanent storage is a technology currently in use, and storage will be procured as a service.

Implementation of the project requires extensive funding from both the Finnish government and the EU. The safety of the entire process is being designed in close cooperation with various authorities and partners.

“The project would not be possible without partners and support. The undisputed advantage of Vuosaari Harbour is its central location. The Vuosaari Harbour has excellent road and rail connections and is only six kilometers from Vantaan Energia’s Waste-to-energy plant,” said Kalle Patomeri, Senior Vice President, Circular Economy business of Vantaan Energia.

“A liquefaction facility is being planned for the new logistics area we acquired last year, and shipping operations will also require renovations to the quay area,” said Vesa Marttinen, Vice President of Cargo operations of the Port of Helsinki.

In terms of biogenic carbon dioxide capture from waste treatment, Vantaan Energia is creating carbon removal units for sale, which companies, organizations and cities can use to offset their operations’ carbon emissions that cannot be avoided through their own emission reduction measures.

“For Vantaan Energia, the project not only enables fossil emission reductions but also the emission reduction units generated through the storage of bio-based carbon dioxide, bringing new business opportunities,” said Patomeri.

The total amount of carbon dioxide captured by Vantaan Energia’s Vantaa Carbon Capture project will correspond to about one third of Vantaa’s emissions. The infrastructure currently being planned would also enable other operators to capture carbon dioxide, thereby multiplying the impact of the project and creating new clean transition business opportunities throughout Finland.

The preliminary planning for the Vantaa Carbon Capture project is intended to be completed in early 2026.

That will be followed by basic planning, and then an investment decision will be made.

According to the current schedule, commissioning could take place in 2030 at the earliest.