Together with the buss company Nobina, Värmlandstrafik (the public transport authority of the county of Värmland) takes a leading position in environmental work by using the new BECCS technique. In the municipality of Hammarö, buses already run on biofuel and with the help of green technical solutions and ecodriving, less fuel is needed for them. When the remainder of the carbon dioxide emissions is cleaned up with the use of BECCS, Värmlandstrafik will take a leading role in environmentally friendly public transportation.
Since 2012, a pilot project in which 33 buses run on the biofuel RME is under way in the municipality of Hammarö, operated by Nobina. Fossil fuel dependence has diminished by 20% since the start, the target being 30% for 2015 and 90% for 2020.
Bio Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage, or BECCS, is a technology that has been developed over the past decade. Through photosynthesis, plants capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and build it into their structures. In various industrial processes such as renewable fuel and electricity production, carbon dioxide is currently released back into the atmosphere. With the help of BECCS technology, carbon dioxide can be captured and compressed into a liquid and then injected to depths of thousands of meters below ground, where it gets absorbed and remains for millions of years.
Biorecro is a Swedish start-up company that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using BECCS. This service is offered as Carbon Cleanup, which serves as an alternative beyond carbon offsetting, for companies and organisations with the ambition of assuming full climate responsibility.
https://www.biorecro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/varmlands_stor.png Many environmental organisations such as World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and The Natural Step (TNS) support the work done by Biorecro with BECCS. One of the proponents is Pär Holmgren, renowned Swedish meteorologist who formerly did weather forecasts on television but is now a climate expert lecturing and writing about climate change.
“Not only do we need to diminish our emissions, we also have to start taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Therefore the initiatives taken by Värmlandstrafik and Nobina are crucial for reaching climate mitigation goals. Biorecro’s climate clean-up with BECCS is a world leading service and a crucial measure for turning the course of events the right way,” says Pär Holmgren.
“The buses at Hammarö are a good example of public transportation going carbon neutral”, says CEO Lars Bull at Värmlandstrafik. “We also know the exact cost of the measure, which is 2.9 million Swedish Kronor per year, or 2.20 SEK per km.” Eleven Hammarö buses each run 12000 km per year. Area Director Lennart Samuelsson at Nobina claims that Carbon Cleanup is a global concern -“Through this co-operation with Värmlandstrafik we assume a pole position in public transportation even globally, using this novel technology”, he says.
“Thanks to this initiative from Värmlandstrafik and Nobina we can accelerate our work with removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. We are happy that they are fore-runners with their climate mitigation leadership, assuming full responsibility with our help”, says Biorecro CEO Henrik Karlsson.
For more information, please call Värmlandstrafik CEO Lars Bull at +46 705 860214, Area Director Lennart Samuelsson +46 701 871013 or Biorecro CEO Henrik Karlsson +46 707 127569.
Värmlandstrafik is owned by the municipalities and the regional council through Region Värmland. Chairman of the Board is Per-Inge Liden (MP), Karlstad, and Vice Chairman is Tommy Ternemar (S), Kristinehamn. More information on www.varmlandstrafik.se.
