BECCS

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) refers to the process of capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide (CO₂) released when biomass—such as agricultural residues, forestry products, or dedicated energy crops—is burned or converted into biofuels for energy generation.

For a more extensive review of this technology, consult our factsheet.

Figure 1. BECCS Conceptual Scheme.

Process Steps

BECCS is a pioneering approach designed to mitigate climate change by effectively capturing biogenic CO₂ and securely storing it in long-lasting geological formations or innovative products. Biogenic CO₂ refers to the carbon dioxide produced from renewable biological materials, including plants, trees, and other forms of biomass. As these living organisms grow, they absorb atmospheric CO₂ through their metabolic processes, ultimately reducing CO₂ levels in the air. Instead of allowing this valuable biogenic CO₂ to escape back into the atmosphere, BECCS employs advanced Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology to capture the emissions. This process enhances our efforts to create a sustainable energy future and ensures that the captured carbon remains locked away, contributing to a healthier planet.

The most prominent application of BECCS involves capturing carbon dioxide emitted from biomass to produce renewable bioenergy. This bioenergy serves as an alternative to traditional fossil fuels, delivering powerful fuels and high-temperature heat to engines designed for conventional energy sources. As a result, BECCS offers a vital pathway for significantly reducing carbon emissions across various industries.

Beyond generating bioenergy, BECCS provides an effective mechanism for capturing CO₂ emissions from various biogenic processes. These include fermentation methods—such as those used in ethanol production—and anaerobic digestion, where organic matter decomposes in the absence of oxygen. Furthermore, there is a substantial opportunity to mitigate emissions from industrial combustion processes that rely on biomass for energy, including waste-to-energy plants and the pulp and paper industry. Since the emissions from these processes originate from biomass, they are inherently biogenic, enabling a more sustainable approach to energy production.

The technology underpinning Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is crucial. It effectively captures CO₂ before it escapes into the atmosphere, playing a pivotal role in combatting climate change. Once captured, this CO₂ can be securely stored underground within geological formations—carbon removal—or repurposed in various applications that utilize carbon dioxide. In doing so, BECCS helps reduce carbon emissions and fosters a circular economy that maximizes the use of renewable resources.

In Europe, BECCS facilities that are either under construction or at an advanced stage of development rely on biomass combustion or Waste-to-Energy processes for combined heat and power (CHP) generation. Thus, the C-Sink project will concentrate on BECCS combustion as a CDR technology.

Figure 2. BECCS steps process diagram.

Figure 3. The process diagram of BECCS technology shows three scenarios: a) biomass combustion for electricity or CHP, b) production of bioethanol, and c) gasification for syngas generation. Note: Red arrows represent potential CO₂ emissions, which must be considered in the value chain environment assessment (LCA).

BECCS case studies within the project:

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that approximately 2 Mt of biogenic CO₂ are captured annually through Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), primarily in bioethanol applications. In 2022, several plans were announced for new plants to capture up to 15 Mtpa CO₂ from biogenic emissions. The IEA also projects that to achieve its ‘Net Zero Emissions by 2050’ scenario, it will be necessary to remove 190 Mtpa CO₂ through BECCS by 2030. Therefore, BECCS’s scalability is crucial for fostering its implementation in the near term.

Europe has an increasing bioenergy potential that relies on residual biomass or waste-to-energy.

Drax Power Station at Selby (UK)

Drax Power Ltd. operates one of the largest biomass conversion plants, the Drax Power Station near Selby, in North Yorkshire (UK). Initially, the plant consisted of six generating units fed with coal, but four of them have been converted into 4 biomass-fired units (645 MW each), fed with compressed wood pellets, with a total capacity of 2.6 GW. These 4 units produce some 14 TWh, representing 11% of the UK’s renewable power and producing around 6% of the country’s electrical supply.

Furthermore, DRAX is implementing the largest decarbonisation project in Europe in this power station which is now the site of innovation for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). The captured CO₂ will be transported (around 100 km by a CO₂ pipeline) and permanently stored in the southern North Sea at a deep saline formation site.

To this end, DRAX is currently operating two BECCS pilots. In the first one, started in 2019, the company uses capture technology from C-Capture, with a capacity to capture 1 tCO₂/day. In the second, initiated in 2020, DRAX applies a technology for carbon capture called Advanced KM CDR process,™️from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which captures some 0.3 tCO₂/day.

The company is testing these technologies with biomass flue gases with the aim of transforming 2 of the biomass units into BECCS units (one in 2030 and the other in 2035), which will remove 8 MtCO₂ per year. With two BECCS and two biomass units, Drax would provide up to 2.2 GW of generation capacity.

Drax BECCS was the first BECCS project in Europe and remains the most promising BECCS facility. Now, DRAX goes beyond with its ambition to become carbon-negative by 2030. This will be achieved through investments in negative emissions technologies, including BECCS across all four of its biomass-generating units, to deliver 16 million tonnes per annum of negative emissions.

Figure 4. Participants in the C-Sink project at Drax Power Station.

Garray Bioelectric Plant (Spain)

The Spanish company ENSO is operating the Bioeléctrica de Garray project, located near the city of Soria (Castilla and Leon, Spain). ENSO generates renewable electrical energy from the combustion of residual biomass of forestry and agricultural origin, with an annual consumption of approximately 135,000 tons. With a power of 15 MWe installed, and around 112,500 MWh of yearly production, the Garray Bioelectric Plant provides the equivalent of the electricity consumption of about 27,000 homes and avoids the emission of about 24,100 tons of CO₂ thanks to a system that captures and purifies CO₂ from the flue gases generated by the combustion of biomass from the power plant. Find out more.

ENSO, together with the company Carburos Metálicos, has built a plant for the capture, purification, and use of the flue gases from biomass units in the generation of renewable CO₂ for industrial and food uses. The start-up of the chemical CO₂ plant took place in June 2022. The CO₂ capture plant was built as part of the LIFE CO2IntBio project for capturing and purifying CO₂ from biomass combustion gases.

The technology used for emissions capture has been chemical absorption with amines. The combustion gas with 8-9% CO₂ goes to a bag filter to eliminate particles, the sulphur is normally in very low concentration and is eliminated in a scrubber; removal of NOx takes place in a NOxFlash system that reduces degradation of the amine. Finally, a blower takes the gas to the absorption tower that works at atmospheric pressure and captures the CO₂ by chemical absorption with the amine solution.

After capturing the CO₂, the amine solution is transferred to the stripping unit where the solution’s temperature is raised, thereby releasing the CO₂ from the solution. The gas being released from the stripper is a highly concentrated stream containing roughly 99% pure CO₂. This concentrated stream can be used in its gaseous form or further purified and liquefied. The chemical CO₂ is analysed to confirm the food specifications before its delivery to customers.

The plant has a potential capacity to recover up to 55 ktpa CO₂. Each year 33,000 t CO₂ are captured from the Bioelectric Plant and valorised at the CO₂ cleaning plant. This requires a carbon footprint of 295 tpa CO₂ related to the liquified CO₂ transport to customers and 25,469 t/year of biomass burnt at the Bioelectric Plant to provide heat and electricity to the CO₂ Plant.