Effect of biomass-based carbon capture on the sustainability and economics of pulp and paper production in the Nordic mills

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is one of the key negative emission technologies (NETs). Large-scale implementation of BECCS has been criticized of the associated increase in land use. The existing large Nordic pulp and paper production units enable BECCS deployment without additional land use, as they currently release large amounts of bio-based carbon dioxide (CO₂). The application of BECCS in pulp mills has been found technically feasible in earlier studies. This study explores key factors that affect the propensity to invest in BECCS in different types of existing European pulp and paper mills. The results give fresh understanding on the effects of BECCS on the market price of pulp and paper products and the required level of incentives. Based on statistical data, the marginal carbon dioxide credit (€ per ton CO₂) to make BECCS profitable was derived. The results show that the required level of credit greatly depends on the mill type and details and that the feasibility of BECCS does not clearly correlate with the economic performance or the measured efficiency of the mill. The most promising mill type, a market kraft pulp mill, would find BECCS profitable with a credit in the range of 62–70 €/t_CO2 and a credit of 80 €/t_CO2 would decrease pulp production costs by 15 €/t_product on average if 50% of CO₂ emissions was captured. The EU Emission Trading System (ETS) is the main policy instrument to achieve the climate targets related to fossil energy use, but does not yet contemplate bio-based emissions.