Enabling a low-carbon economy via hydrogen and CCS (ELEGANCY)

As the only technology that can substantially reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, CCS is an essential component in essentially all IPCC scenarios that limit global warming to below 2.3°C. Indeed, without CCS, it will be extremely difficult to keep the rise in global temperature within the limits set by the Paris Agreement. Yet there is a large disconnect between policy ambitions and technology readiness – and industrial uptake. This is mainly due to the lack of a business model: costs are immediate, but the benefits are long term. Similarly, the introduction of hydrogen (H2) as a low-carbon fuel for heating, cooling, transport and industrial processes has been slower than desired. However, as the natural gas (NG) reforming for H2 production also produces CO2 using existing or new processes, this can provide the economic driver needed to fast-track CCS commercial deployment. The ELEGANCY project – a European research activity with academic and research partners from five different countries – will therefore provide three crucial benefits:

1. the decarbonization of heating and transport based on an existing fuel and infrastructure,
2. a commercial model for industrial CCS,
3. the opportunity to broaden public awareness of CCS.

To enable application of this research, ELEGANCY will also develop an innovative, open-source design tool for a fully integrated H2-CCS chain. Finally, taking a fully integrated approach, the project will study business development opportunities, public perceptions of CCS and any environmental aspects of H2-CCS chains. LEA’s activities include life cycle assessment (LCA), risk assessment and the analysis of scenarios for decarbonizing the Swiss transport sector via hydrogen-CCS technologies. ELEGANCY is co-funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 program, ACT Grant Agreement No 691712.