Nuon

	Øystein Løseth, Chairman of the Management Board

If we are to secure a reliable and affordable energy supply in the long term, we need to make it sustainable. Fossil fuel sources are becoming scarce and lead problems with the climate and environment. The way to achieve this goes beyond simply investing in renewables and making energy savings. Worldwide, 95% of energy is still produced from fossil fuels and the European Union has set a target of 20% to be derived from renewables by 2020. The challenge we face is ensuring the remaining 80% is as clean as possible.

Clean fossil fuel as transition fuel

Nuon is an ambitious Dutch energy utility with over three million customers in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Our sustainability strategy is based on three pillars: energy saving, renewable energy production and clean fossil fuel. We take a balanced approach, by investing in all three areas. We actively help our customers to reduce their energy consumption and we are investing in renewable energy with, for examples, our first offshore wind park in the Netherlands and the development of flexible solar film at our Helianthos factory.

We aspire to be a front runner in the energy transition with our development of clean fossil fuel. Buggenum, our 250 megawatt plant in the Netherlands, is one of the only four coal gasification electricity plants in the world. We are combining biomass, coal and gas, thereby generating significantly lower emissions of NOx, SO2, mercury and micro dust compared to conventional power plants. Furthermore, Nuon was the first company to combine clean fossil fuel innovation with large-scale biomass co-firing for electricity production.

Next step: CO2 capture

The next step in clean fossil fuel is CO2 separation. At Buggenum we are piloting a scheme with coal gasification as it is ideally suited for pre-combustion CO2 capture which means the CO2 is captured before the combustion process. This is possible because the technical process consists of two separate steps: first the coal and biomass are gasified to form a synthetic gas (syngas), which is then fed to the gas turbine where electricity is produced. The CO2 capture installation easily fits in between these two steps.

Pre-combustion capture has several advantages compared to post-combustion. The technology is further developed and proven since the separate modulesof pre-combustion CO2 capture have been used in the petrochemical industry for over 50 years. Several studies indicate that this method is economically more feasible and takes up less physical space. The main reason for this is the high concentration of CO2 in the syngas from the gasifier compared with the concentration of CO2 in the flue gases of a conventional coal plant. The pilot will enable Nuon to acquire knowledge of how to reduce CO2 emissions substantially.

From pilot to demonstration

With the experience and knowledge of Buggenum, Nuon intends to use clean coal technology for the new multi-fuel gasification power plant, Nuon Magnum (1300 megawatt). Similar to Buggenum, Nuon Magnum is technologically suited to further develop CO2 capture, and is near empty gas fields where the CO2 can be stored. We aim to invest in a large-scale demo of pre-combustion CO2 capture with the potential of capturing 2 to 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year. This will bring the emissions’ level of a coal gasification plant down to the level of emissions from a gas plant, or even lower.

Nuon Magnum, a multi-fuel power plant

Working towards a sustainable future together

In close cooperation with governments, NGOs, the industry and knowledge centres we have to take further steps in the energy transition with the use of clean fossil such as creating a regulatory framework and a sufficient financial safeguard to make the necessary investments in large-scale demos possible. This can be achieved by guaranteeing the CO2 price level for the longer term. Last but not least, it is crucial to generate public acceptance by offering sufficient, clear and understandable information.

Clean fossil fuel & renewables: a perfect combination

Besides the environmental advantages of the multi-fuel power approach, it has a natural fit with wind energy production. The gas part of the multi-fuel plant can easily respond to the fluctuation in wind supply. But even more important, the coal gasification part generates great flexibility. Apart from electricity, the plant will have the possibility to produce a range of other products such as syngas and hydrogen. If there is enough wind energy available, the coal gasification part can switch from electricity production to the production of other products.

Nuon and clean fossil

Clean fossil fuel is needed to transform the energy supply into a sustainable one. The next step in the energy transition is further development of CO2 capture. Nuon is taking the first steps by developing the CO2 capture pilot in Buggenum; based on this experience, Nuon has the ambition to develop this technology at its new power plant Magnum. We are taking a next step in the energy transition to a clean, affordable and reliable energy supply.

W: www.nuon.com