Air Liquide Delivers Cryocap Liquefaction Unit for Bio-Cogeneration Plant

Stockholm Exergi selected Air Liquide’s large-scale CO₂ liquefaction technology, Cryocap LQ, for its bio-energy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project. Cryocap LQ and additional equipment will be used for BECCS at an existing heat-and-power biomass plant in Stockholm, Sweden. The liquefaction solution, with a capacity of 3,500 tons per day, enables long-distance CO₂ transport to carbon sinks for permanent sequestration.

“We are pleased that Air Liquide’s technology has been selected for the Stockholm Exergi innovative CCS project,” said Philippe Merino, Group Vice President of Engineering & Construction at Air Liquide. “Cryocap LQ CO₂ liquefaction technology is a new addition to Air Liquide’s portfolio of low-carbon technologies and is particularly suited to large-scale CCS projects. In line with Air Liquide’s ADVANCE plan, our ambition is to contribute actively to the emergence of a low-carbon society. Drawing on our capabilities and expertise, we can help our customers achieve their decarbonization goals and forge a sustainable future.”

Over the first decade of operation, the planned BECCS facility will liquefy and store approximately 8 million tons of biogenic CO₂. Air Liquide’s Cryocap LQ technology uses a chemical-free, non-flammable process in a compact footprint—the design allows heat recovery and reuse to supply Stockholm’s district heating network. European Innovation Fund supports the project.

In June 2024, Air Liquide and Dunkerque LNG received financial support from the European Commission for the D’Artagnan CO₂ transportation and exportation infrastructure project. D’Artagnan would represent an approximate investment of more than €400 million and benefit from a grant of more than €160 million under the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy funding program.

The D’Artagnan project is part of the “Cap Décarbonation” initiative whose mission is to reduce CO₂ emissions by 1.5 mtpa in the industrial basin of Dunkirk and its surroundings. It will feature an Air Liquide pipeline to transport CO₂ from capture sites to a terminal in the West Port of Dunkirk for liquefaction and export via ships. The initiative is also supported by a complementary project: CO₂ capture at the Eqiom cement plant in Lumbres and Lhoist lime production in Réty, both in the north of France and assisted by Air Liquide’s Cryocap technology.

The new terminal will be built and operated by Air Liquide and Dunkerque LNG, receiving and liquefying CO₂ for shipment to permanent storage sites in the North Sea. For future transport and shipment operations, the terminal is expected to handle additional volumes of up to 4 million tons of CO₂ per year, which is equivalent to more than 5% of industrial greenhouse gas emissions in France.

In December 2023, Air Liquide announced that it was building a global-scale carbon-capture site that utilized its Cryocap technology. Air Liquide’s hydrogen production plant is located at the Rotterdam industrial basin in the Netherlands. This unit is connected to a large-scale carbon-capture and storage infrastructure project called Porthos, which is designed to reduce CO₂ emissions in the industrial basin.