Without CCS – More Expensive District Heating. District heating is Helsingborg’s reliable, sustainable, and resource-efficient energy source. But to ensure it stays that way in the future, it must become carbon neutral. That’s where CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) at the Filborna plant plays a vital role. CCS is necessary not only to reach Helsingborg’s climate goals by 2030 but also to secure affordable and sustainable district heating for our customers.
The Filborna plant must become carbon-neutral
At the Filborna plant, we incinerate residual waste—garbage that cannot be recycled—to produce district heating and electricity. This allows us to recover energy from waste that would otherwise be lost. However, the incineration process releases carbon dioxide, both fossil CO₂ from plastics and biogenic CO₂ from materials like wood and paper.
The EU’s climate policy demands that all operations emitting CO₂ drastically reduce or eliminate their emissions. For the Filborna plant, this means becoming climate-neutral by 2039. In the meantime, it will become increasingly expensive to emit CO₂ as the price of emission allowances rises while their availability decreases.
If we don’t act now, there will be serious consequences for district heating in Helsingborg:
- We would be forced to rebuild the boiler to run exclusively on biogenic fuels – an extremely costly solution.
- Instead of getting paid to accept and recover energy from waste, we would have to purchase expensive biofuels – significantly raising the cost of district heating.
- District heating prices for our customers would rise sharply.
Emission Allowances Are Getting More Expensive – And Will Be Gone by 2039
Right now, we have to pay for every ton of CO₂ we emit through the EU Emissions Trading System. But this system is designed to completely phase out fossil emissions:
- The number of emission allowances decreases each year, driving up prices.
- The longer we wait, the more expensive it becomes to emit.
- By 2039, no emission allowances will be left – emitting CO₂ simply won’t be allowed.
Without CCS at Filborna, we would face sharply rising costs to operate the plant, making district heating significantly more expensive for our customers.
CCS solves this problem by making the Filborna plant carbon neutral. This means we won’t need to buy emission allowances at all – saving substantial money in the long term and ensuring that district heating remains an affordable and sustainable energy solution.
But Can’t we stop burning waste?
A common question is: Why continue incinerating waste at all? The reality is that, even as we improve recycling and reduce waste, there will always be residual waste that needs to be managed, such as:
- Plastics that already exist and can’t be recycled.
- Contaminated or mixed waste that can’t be reused.
- Waste from healthcare and other essential public services.
Landfilling is not a sustainable option. Energy recovery is currently the most resource-efficient way to handle residual waste while generating district heating and electricity. That’s why we need to continue waste incineration – but without carbon emissions. And that’s precisely what CCS makes possible.
CCS Is a Critical Solution for District Heating
When we look at the alternatives, it becomes clear that CCS is essential – both for the climate and for Helsingborg’s district heating system:
• We can keep the Filborna plant as it is and still become climate-neutral.
• We avoid the high cost of converting to biofuels, helping to stabilize heating prices.
• We eliminate the need to buy increasingly expensive emission allowances.
• We can continue to manage waste in a sustainable way.
CCS at the Filborna plant is not just a climate solution – it’s an investment in a stable, affordable, and sustainable energy future for Helsingborg’s residents and businesses.
