This story first appeared in Argus Media
By Hannah Adler, Senior Reporter at Argus Media
Elimini — the carbon removal firm founded by UK utility Drax last year — is having to navigate an unclear policy landscape while scaling BECCS projects, executive vice-president Ross McKenzie has told Argus. McKenzie described in a recent interview how Elimini shapes Beccs strategy around US policy, discusses lessons from Europe, and shares his outlook. Edited highlights follow:
How has US policy helped or challenged Elimini's BECCS deployment?
This administration clearly understands that emerging technologies like BECCS can create real economic value through jobs and local investment, and that recognition has helped build momentum in the US. Federal incentives like 45Q are an important foundation, but the broader policy landscape is still catching up with the needs of a fast-growing market. Additional clarity around permitting and interconnection processes for large-scale infrastructure projects would make it easier to plan and deploy projects responsibly.
How will you manage political uncertainty and carbon price volatility? What will you do if support for BECCS weakens?
Policy uncertainty always complicates long-term planning, which is why we have built flexibility into our business model. Given the current environment, we are leaning into strategic M&A and partnerships to advance biogenic technologies, while working on greenfield projects. That balance lets us keep moving without being overly exposed to short-term carbon price swings. As the market evolves, we can shift our focus quickly to stay aligned with the strongest opportunities.
How does BECCS fit into Elimini's decarbonisation strategy compared with alternatives like renewables?
Beccs is a major strength for us, but it is part of a broader suite of solutions we are developing. We are also exploring complementary pathways like biofuels, where demand continues to outpace supply, and our biomass expertise gives us a real advantage. By diversifying across BECCS, biofuels and other biogenic solutions, we can offer flexible, reliable decarbonisation options that scale with the market.
What have you learned in Europe that might inform your US grid planning?
Europe shows just how powerful consistent policy support can be in helping new technologies scale quickly and competitively. Its early leadership on BECCS has already drawn interest and investment from US companies looking to learn. Europe has also demonstrated how pairing intermittent renewables with bioenergy can strengthen reliability while still cutting emissions.
What is your outlook for BECCS in the US and Europe?
BECCS remains the most in-demand engineered technology in the voluntary carbon market, and we expect that momentum to continue. The US has a real advantage when it comes to scaling, with abundant sustainable biomass and accessible geological storage compared with Europe's more limited and concentrated storage capacity and cross-border permitting challenges. At the same time, Europe continues to set many of the standards and support frameworks that will help shape and scale the global carbon market. Both regions play important roles in moving Beccs forward — with Europe taking a slight competitive advantage recently as supply and demand support schemes are developing in the right direction.
Elimini told us last year that it intends to announce one or two more BECCS projects in the US this year. Do those have timelines?
We continue to explore several BECCS projects in the US, and our focus is making sure each delivers benefits for the climate, nature, and the communities we work with. Taking the time to get these elements right has extended some of our timelines, but our ambition hasn't changed — we would rather move deliberately than move too fast. We continue to progress several promising partnerships and expect to have more to share as we look toward 2026, as well as continuing to pursue our greenfield BECCS development.
What revenue streams will you use — carbon credits, energy sales, government subsidies?
Our revenue model includes several sources, starting with carbon removal credits, which we can secure in advance through long-term offtake agreements. BECCS also provides renewable base-load energy, giving us an additional revenue stream that's unique to this technology in the carbon removal space. And because this is still an emerging market, stable government support remains important until the sector fully matures.
Do you have an update on the BECCS facility being built at HOFOR's 150MW wood chip-fired unit 4?
We are continuing to work on technical and commercial solutions for BioCapture Copenhagen so the project can be delivered in parallel with the development of Danish CO2 storage facilities and a supportive regulatory and subsidy framework.
1/7/26