ACCSESS Project : Providing access to cost-efficient, replicable, safe and flexible CCUS

ACCSESS project is a four-year Horizon 2020 Innovation Action that started in May 2021. The project vision is to "Develop replicable carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) pathways towards a Climate Neutral Europe in 2050". This paper shows a project overview. The project has a cross-sectorial approach addressing emissions from Pulp and Paper, Cement, Waste-to-Energy, and Biorefineries, all with potential for contributing to carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The ACCSESS concept redefines the CCS acronym as “Capture, Chains and Society”, to address the fact that technical aspects, chain optimization and societal perspectives need to be considered together to accelerate CCS implementation in Europe. ACCSESS will demonstrate several innovative technology prototypes in an operational environment. This includes the pilot-scale demonstration of CO2 capture technology at three industrial sites in three different countries. The capture technology innovation to be demonstrated is a solvent consisting of potassium carbonate dissolved in water, in combination with a Rotary Packed Bed (RPB) absorber. In addition, ACCSESS will explore energy- and cost-efficient ways to integrate CO2 capture solvent technologies in the four industrial sectors and industry clusters. ACCSESS will develop and improve CCUS chains from continental Europe and the Baltic area to the North Sea, to provide access routes to the flexible, ship-based offshore CO2 transport and storage infrastructures that are under development in the North Sea. The work will include multi-criteria optimization and assessments (techno-economic, environmental, legal/regulatory), to assess the holistic performance and overall feasibility of the chains and clusters. The selected CCUS chains are based on technological solutions for CO2 capture and transport that are available today, and chains that rely on technologies that are still under development. Enabling technologies for CO2 transport will be explored to ensure a multi-scale approach to de-risking CCUS chains. A main hypothesis in ACCSESS is that cities striving for sustainable urban development can become drivers for CCS implementation, which could lead to multiple replications of CCS in Europe. ACCSESS will engage with and inform stakeholders about CCS, its benefits for society, and the marginal additional cost of products produced with CCS. ACCSESS brings together researchers and CCS stakeholders from several pan-European countries in a joint effort to innovate and accelerate CCS deployment