OMV Petrom to test carbon capture and utilisation facility in Romania

OMV Petrom (owned 51% by Austria’s OMV and Romanian shareholders), the largest integrated energy producer in Southeastern Europe, will test a new carbon capture and utilisation technology at the Petrobrazi refinery, starting June. The tests are part of a demonstration campaign carried out in three countries – Denmark, Romania and Greece, within an innovation project financed with European funds – ConsenCUS.

Radu Căprău, member of OMV Petrom Executive Board, responsible for Refining and Marketing: “We want to actively contribute to the decarbonisation of transport in Romania and we have two clear directions: lower the emissions of the Petrobrazi refinery and develop products with a low and zero carbon content for our customers. We now have the opportunity to test a new technology through which we capture the refinery’s carbon emissions and turn them into widely used chemical products.”

The plant consists of three units. The first captures CO2 through a more efficient technology than traditional methods. In the second unit, high purity CO2 is obtained and finally the third unit transforms CO2 into a chemical product, potassium formate, with multiple uses, such as the production of synthetic fuels.

The installation was successfully tested in Denmark at a cement plant. From Romania, the installation will head to Greece, to a magnesium production plant.

ConsenCUS, which started in 2021, is a 4-year innovation project funded by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 program. The project aims to demonstrate the viability of a new technology applicable to sectors where reducing carbon emissions is difficult.

The project is run by a consortium of 19 leading research institutions and innovative companies: University of Groningen (NL), New Energy Coalition (NL), Wetsus (NL), Coval Energy (NL), Technical University of Denmark (DK), Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (DK), Danish Gas Technology Centre (DK), Aalborg Portland (DK), Heriot-Watt University (UK), Robert Gordon University (UK), Net Zero Technology Centre (UK), British Geological Survey (UK), Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (GR), Grecian Magnesite (GR), OMV Petrom, Energy Policy Group (RO), Zhejiang University (CN), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN) and University of Calgary (CA).