Download pdf about KANs position here: KAN position August 2025

A. Waste incineration has an important and necessary function in society

Norway's waste incineration facilities ensure safe and environmentally friendly final treatment of waste that cannot or should not be materially recycled. The waste incineration plants have an important and necessary function in society and contribute to maintaining an environmentally friendly and circular economy. The facilities produce energy and are the most important source of the city's district heating network, which greatly relieves the power grid and affects network rent and electricity prices. In many cities, electricity and steam are also produced for nearby industry. The waste that is finally treated has both fossil (e.g. plastic) and biogenic (e.g. impregnated wood) origins. About 50% of CO2- emissions are biogenic. CCS will therefore contribute to both reducing fossil emissions of CO2 and to the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere (often called CO2 removal (CDR), negative emissions or carbon removal). 

I Statsbudsjettet for 2025 ba Stortinget regjeringen om å utforme et støtteprogram som en serie med auksjoner for å kutte utslipp og oppnå karbonfjerning innen industri og avfallsforbrenning og komme tilbake til dette i Statsbudsjettet for 2026. KAN mener at et slikt støtteprogram bør utformes slik at flere kriterier, som samfunnsnytten fra våre anlegg, og ikke bare kostnader, blir verdsatt i vurderingen (f.eks. med prosentbasert vekting).

B. CCUS for waste incineration is necessary to achieve the climate goals 

In order for Norway to be able to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% and fulfill its obligations under the Paris Agreement, Norway needs a plan for how to get CO2 management in place at waste incineration plants in Norway. Support schemes and framework conditions must collectively make it possible to realize CCUS at waste incineration plants. 

KAN's partners can capture 1.3 million tons of CO2 in 2030 and thus contribute to local and national climate targets, provided the right framework conditions are in place. 

C. The costs of CO2 capture and storage must be covered by predictable sources of income 

The business model for CCUS for waste incineration is mainly linked to avoided cost (the fossil CO2 tax/EU ETS) and revenues for the removal of biogenic CO2 through the sale of CO2 removal certificates. In the future, the EU ETS and other market mechanisms will hopefully provide sufficient incentives for emission cuts and CCUS, but there is a need for public support and risk relief during a transitional period. The instruments must provide income that is stable and predictable over a longer period and must be able to be combined with (not added to) possible inclusion in the EU ETS and the sale of CO2 removal certificates in the voluntary market. The mechanisms must be cost-effective and market-based and stimulate technology development and the development of competition-based markets, in addition to being manageable administratively for industry players and authorities.

KANs kostnadsanalyse fra 2024, i hovedsak fra mulighetsstudier, viser levetidskostnader per tonn CO2 i et spenn mellom 2500 kr/tonn i et scenario med lave transport- og lagerkostnader, og 3300 kr/tonn i et scenario for et anlegg med lite volum og lang transportvei. Dette er totale levetidskostnader for hele verdikjeden, inkludert alle investerings- og driftskostnader, samt avkastningskrav, utviklingskostnader og usikkerhetsreserve. Kostnadene varierer både avhengig av størrelse på fangstanlegget og i stor grad av distanse til permanent lager.

Det er stor usikkerhet relatert til kostnadsestimatene som antas å ha en usikkerhet med opptil -30/+ 50%. Kostnadene for transport og endelig lager er usikre og avhenger av forhandlingsposisjonen til anleggene, markedsmakten til lageraktørene og tilbud og etterspørsel.  Kostnaden per tonn CO2 er usikker og svært følsom for transport og permanent lager, avkastningskrav og investeringskostnad.

KAN believes that it may be possible to realize CCUS at the waste incineration plants at around NOK 3,000/tonne CO2.

D. Cost of emissions of fossil CO2 in the waste value chain is an important incentive for CCUS 

KAN believes that it is right that it should cost money to emit CO2, also in the waste sector. The CO2 tax in combination with other measures should provide sufficient incentives for CCUS, reduced amounts of waste and increased reuse and recycling. At the same time, the CO2 tax must provide incentives to utilize the waste that cannot be reused or recycled for district heating.

Today's arrangement, where the cost placed on the waste incineration plant cannot be passed on to either district heating customers or waste owners due to price regulation of district heating and strong competition from Swedish incineration plants, leads to a large financial burden. This can lead to increased export of waste with the climate and environmental challenges it presents, as well as threaten district heating production, which is mainly based on surplus heat from waste incineration. It is therefore important that the industry gets a transition period with low or no fee until the inclusion in the EU ETS, so that the necessary capital can be used to mature CCUS projects. The scheme should be designed so that it is not at a competitive disadvantage for facilities in Norway that are already included in the EU ETS. At the same time, we see that the level of avoided CO2 tax or allowance price will not be sufficient to cover the costs of CCUS. Additional measures will therefore be necessary. 

The most important instrument for maintaining waste incineration with CO2 capture is equal framework conditions for waste incineration in Norway and Sweden.

KAN believes that emitting CO2 should cost. At the same time, fairer competition conditions for waste incineration must be ensured between Norwegian and foreign plants and equivalent and sufficient framework conditions and support schemes for CO2 capture as in our neighboring countries.

E. Framework and revenue sources for CO2 removal must be in place

Removing biogenic CO2 from the atmosphere has as much benefit as reducing fossil emissions but is not valued today. A set of regulations for CO2 removal is on the way at European level, which is necessary for the industry, but it is important that the Norwegian authorities quickly value CO2 removal in line with emission reductions. There is a voluntary market for the trading of CO2 removal certificates, but the market is immature, mainly based on bilateral agreements, few but large buyers, and missing/different regulations for certification and bookkeeping.

KAN believes it is essential to quickly establish a framework at both national and European level for CO2 removal that can provide a stable source of income for the capture and storage of biogenic CO2.

F. Framework for CCUS at waste incineration plants should be established quickly

KAN wants:

• Et støtteprogram som dekker investering og drift.
• Differansekontrakter der både fossil og biogen CO2 er en del av samme mekanisme og prises likt med EU ETS/ CO2-avgift som referansepris for fossile utslipp og potensielle inntekter fra frivillige markeder eller EU ETS for biogen CO2.
• contracts for difference that are two-sided, where the market participant receives part of the upside from the sale of CO2 removal certificates
• A direct allocation to waste incineration plants, which will realize KAN's CCUS projects

The means must:

• Be cost-effective, but also include the socio-economic consequences for waste management and delivery of heat to the district heating network if CCUS at waste incineration plants is not realised. 
• Be initiated quickly to achieve the goals of realization in 2030, with clear signals in 2024 and during 2025 the mechanism must be known at a detailed level.
• Be administratively feasible for market players such as waste incineration plants with complex ownership structures and limited resources and expertise
• Last 15-20 years to provide sufficient risk relief, stability and predictability.
• Take into account that the technology is still commercially immature. Several projects must be realized before competition-based technology-neutral schemes are used.  
• Ensure risk relief for the establishment of the value chain.
• In a competition-based scheme, use various criteria in addition to price, such as geography, maturity, environmental impact, energy efficiency, geography and ripple effects in the local environment.

KAN's CCUS projects play a key role in cluster cooperation around the big cities, and with mature projects these can play an important role in the development of a regional core infrastructure for CO2 management. We therefore see it as important to prioritize the realization of these projects.

Blant annet er enkelte industrier med i EU ETS og tildeles frikvoter. Verdikjeden er heller ikke utprøvd og kommersielt moden, det er en tilnærmet monopolsituasjon for permanent lager. I mangel på etablert infrastruktur for transport og lager vil kostnadene og risikoen kunne bli uforholdsmessig høye for små aktører. Om det mot formodning skulle innføres auksjoner ønsker vi at en serie auksjoner planlegges og er kjent for å sikre forutsigbarhet og at det legges opp til at prosjekter med like forutsetninger konkurrerer med hverandre, for eksempel for små- og mellomstore prosjekter. KAN anbefaler ikke en egen auksjonsordning for avfallsforbrenningsanlegg da vi ikke anser det til å være tilstrekkelig konkurransegrunnlag.

G. Maturation and rollout

The costs for the players for the maturation and development of projects are significant in the entire phase from idea to realization, so continued and reinforced risk relief and financial support is an important and essential means of action. KAN believes it is important to have long-term, predictable and good support schemes for the maturation of projects in the feasibility phase, concept phase and pre-project phase. The amount of support should be as high as possible and a minimum of 50%. Investigations into regional transport and storage services should be able to be supported to give point emissions the lowest possible costs. Industrial collaboration and clusters that deal with several parts of the value chain are an important tool in the development of everything from framework conditions to concrete solutions for transport and other infrastructure, and must be included in the support programmes.

KAN wants a minimum of 50% of the project development costs in all phases to be covered.

H. Utvikling av nasjonal CO2-verdikjede

En nasjonal CO2-infrastruktur er avgjørende for å nå Norges klimamål og legge til rette for grønn industriutvikling. For at små og mellomstore utslipp skal kunne delta i CCS-satsingen, må staten ta en aktiv koordinerende og investerende rolle i utviklingen av terminalstruktur og logistikk.

Små utslipp krever fleksible løsninger for mottak og injeksjon

Norske utslipp er for små og spredte til å rettferdiggjøre store skip. Det er behov for landbaserte injeksjonsterminaler som kan ta imot CO₂ både fra tankbil og mindre skip. For å unngå kapasitetskonflikter med europeiske CO₂-volumer, bør det etableres dedikerte losseløsninger for norske utslipp – enten som egne kaiområder ved injeksjonsterminalene, eller som tie-in-terminaler koblet til hovedterminalen via rør. Staten bør bestille og sikre kapasitet i slike terminaler for norske utslippskilder, og legge til rette for småskala mottaksterminaler, eksempelvis eid og driftet av SIVA.

Felles utskipingsterminaler gir stordriftsfordeler

Samlokalisering av CO₂ fra flere utslippskilder i felles mellomlagre og utskipningsterminaler gir lavere kostnader. Også her kan SIVA spille en nøkkelrolle som eier og drifter.

Statlig koordinering reduserer risiko og kostnad

En aktiv statlig rolle er avgjørende for å redusere risiko i verdikjeden og sikre lavere kostnader, særlig knyttet til støtteordninger som differansekontrakter.

Utilization of CO2 (CCU) as an alternative to permanent storage

Avkarbonisering av industrien fører til økt etterspørsel etter biogen CO2. Om man ivaretar bærekraftig bruk av biogene ressurser vil CCU være et alternativ til permanent lagring, der kostnadene og risikoene er høye. KAN støtter utviklingen av teknologi og markeder for alternativ bruk av biogen CO2 der det gir miljøgevinst, og i disse tilfeller fleksibilitet for bruk av CCU-prosjekter i støtteprogrammene.