- The BioCapture Copenhagen project is minded not to submit a final bid for CO2 capture at Amagerværket in the state's CCS support pool.
- This is primarily due to continued uncertainty regarding a final storage facility for captured CO2 and the need for large guarantees.
- HOFOR and Elimini have also agreed to continue close cooperation to secure future CO2 capture opportunities at Amagerværket.
COPENHAGEN, Dec. 9, 2025 – BioCapture Copenhagen project partners, HOFOR and Elimini, are minded not to submit a bid to the state support pool for the joint CCS project at Amagerværket in Copenhagen.
HOFOR and Elimini have worked intensively to realize CO2 capture at Amagerværket and have come a long way in the project development. The work has shown that the project has major climate benefits – both in relation to the Copenhagen Municipality’s climate strategy and the national CO2 reduction goals.
“HOFOR and Elimini have developed a project with the potential to remove a large amount of CO2 each year. Extensive preparations and analyses have been carried out, which strengthens the assessment that there is a solid basis for developing a good project. However, high risks have meant that we are minded not to bid for the state's CCS support pool at this time. HOFOR and Elimini are continuing to work to realize the City of Copenhagen's goal of having CO2 capture at the Amager Power Plant," said Gorm Elikofer, Director of Energy at HOFOR.
Tight schedule and uncertainty about final storage
The uncertainty around Danish final storage sites for CO2, the tight project schedule and the high requirements for guarantees in the Danish Energy Agency’s tender have led the projected to be minded not to apply for funding at this time.
“The framework and schedule for the tender combined with the current lack of maturity of Danish CO2 storage have proven to be inconsistent with the project,” said Gorm Elikofer.
The tender requires the project to be operational by 1 January 2030. The biggest challenge to meet that deadline is that the Danish onshore storage facilities will not make a final investment decision until the end of 2027 at the earliest.
“This is significantly later in time than when HOFOR and Elimini need to make the investment decision on the capture facility in order to have it in operation by 1 January 2030” explained Gorm Elikofer and concludes:
“HOFOR and Elimini therefore assess that the external risks in the project are too great to submit a final bid now. We are of course disappointed, but we are still working on establishing a CO2 capture facility at Amagerværket, now just further in the future.”
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Facts and background
HOFOR’s and Elimini’s joint project, BioCapture Copenhagen, aims to capture CO2 at Amagerværket. There is potential to remove several hundred thousand tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year – which would be a significant contribution to the national targets for CO2 capture.
Amagerværket is Denmark’s largest point source for biogenic CO2. The CO2 capture plant will be located at the biomass-fired Block 4, which was inaugurated in 2020 and is expected to be in use for many years to come.
HOFOR is Denmark’s largest multi-utility company with more than one million customers in the capital region, including 660,000 district heating customers in Copenhagen. HOFOR owns Amagerværket, which supplies around a quarter of the district heating in the City of Copenhagen.
Elimini is an expert in CO2 capture and storage, specialising in the capture of biogenic CO2. The company is a subsidiary of the British Drax Group, which carried out the first pilot project in Europe for CO2 capture on 100% biomass-based flue gas.