ZEP

The European Technology Platform on Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants - ZEP - is a project gathering more than 200 experts on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The aim of ZEP is to establish gas and coal power plants with nearly no CO2 emissions.

What is ZEP

A brief summary of ZEPs organisation and stucture is given below. More comprehensive presentations of ZEP are given in our ZEP Fact Sheet and on the ZEP Web Site

ZEP was commenced by the European Commission in 2005, and its aim is to lay down the foundation for EU CCS policies and priorities in the 7th Framework Programme for research and technological development (7FP). ZEP will also provide input to EU institutions and EU countries on measures to promote CCS. Thus, ZEP is of significant importance for the EU strategy of reducing CO₂ emissions.

ZEP constitutes more than 200 CCS experts from industry, research institutions, NGOs and governmental bodies all over Europe.

The ZEP vision is to enable European fossil fuel power plants to have zero CO₂ emissions by 2020.

ZEP will define actions and measures required to reach this vision. ZEP will take a wide approach and aims at establishing recommendations including technical, financial, juridical, and environmental factors, as well as public communication.

ZEP structure

The ZEP managing body is the Advisory Council (AC). The AC consists of 36 top managers and specialists on CCS.

A Government Coordination Group (GCG) ensures a continuous dialog between the AC and EU governments. The GCG has representatives from governments in EU Member states and Norway.

Four Task Forces have been established to assist the AC. All communication between these groups and the AC is coordinated by a separate Coordination Group (CG)

The ZEP Task Forces has the following responsibilities:

• The Task Force on Policy and Regulations is working towards the EC and EU countries, suggesting the necessary framework needed to ensure broad implementation of CCS projects.
• The Task Force on Demonstration and Implementation is working to promote the commencement of 10-12 demonstration plants by 2015.
• The Task Force on Technology is working to speed up technological development.
• The Task Force on Public Communication is focusing on public communication to promote CCS.

Organizational structure of ZEP

Bellona's position in ZEP

Bellona is well represented in ZEP:

• Frederic Hauge is the vice-chairman of the Advisory Council. He also participates in the Task Force on Demonstration and Implementation.
• Paal Frisvold has a main position in the Coordination Group and he is a co-leader of the Task Force on Policy and Regulations.
• Aage Stangeland is member of the Task Force on Technology.
• Svend Søyland and Anne Karin Sæther participate in the Task Force on Public Communication.

The Bellona representatives in ZEP are working actively to reach the ZEP vision, and Bellona has played an important role in establishing the ZEP deliverables.

Bellona has established a shadow group to ensure the flow of information to Norwegian actors and to promote use of Norwegian competence on CCS. This is an open forum, designed for Norwegian corporates and political authorities. Information is continuously exchanged through seminars, meetings and emails which allow various stakeholders to give inputs on the current ZEP projects and agenda.

ZEP Results and deliverables

The most relevant results of ZEP are listed below:

Maximising the benefits of knowledge sharing

(October 2009)

ZEP has published a proposal describing how knowledge sharing within an EU CCS demonstration programme can help overcome the final barriers to the deployment of CCS.

Download the official ZEP report

ZEP’s recommendations for NER funding of CCS

(June 2009)

ZEP has published a paper presenting the input of ZEP to the European Commission during the comitology process that will determine the allocation of the New Entrant Reserve and the implementation of the demonstration projects whose funding it is intended to support.

Download the official ZEP report

The EU Energy Package

(December 2008)

ZEP has provided valuable input on CCS to the famous EU Energy Package which is aimed at reducing EU CO₂ emissions by 20 percent by 2020.

CCS plays a central role in the EU Energy Package, and the ZEP recommendation of building 10-12 demonstration projects is more or less incorporated in the Energy Package. As such, ZEP recommendations have a large impact on EU energy and climate policy when it comes to CCS.

ZEP's proposal for the EU CCS demonstration program

(November 2008)

ZEP has recommended that the EU build 10-12 demonstration projects for CCS by 2015. By doing so, technological development will be accelerated, the cost related to CCS will be reduced, and we will obtain new knowledge on CCS.

ZEP has defined criteria for how to select the demonstration projects and analyzed options for financing the projects.

Download the official ZEP report.

Evaluation of CCS technologies

(October 2008)

ZEP has performed a comprehensive evaluation of CCS technologies. The aim of the study is to determine which technologies are commercially available and which technologies need further demonstration and research.

The results, also called Technology Block, can be downloaded.

Brochure on CO2 storage

(August 2008)

As a result of ZEP's work on public communication a brochure explaining CO₂ storage has been written. Download the brochure.

Public communication

(May 2008)

Public awareness on CCS is low, and there is a huge need for providing easy understandable information on CCS. ZEP has therefore written the brochure CO₂ Capture and Storage (CCS) - Why it is essential to combat global warming. Download the brochure.

More deliverables from ZEP are availabe from the ZEP home page.

Identifying research gaps

(April 2008)

The European Commission has asked ZEP to identify research gaps on CCS that should be addressed by the EU research programme 7FP. Download the ZEP report with recommendations for reseach and technology development.

Bellona Deliverables

As a part of our ZEP participation, Bellona has performed several in-house studies to synthesize new knowledge on CCS. The results are available in the following papers and reports:

• Bellona organized over 60 side events at the Cophenhagen Climate Negotiations (COP-15) in December 2009. Program for Bellonas ”side events” under COP-15.
• Amines Used in CO2 Capture – Health and Environmental Impacts, September 2009. A publication on recommendations for how amines can be used for CO2 capture with minimal risk for environmental impacts.
• CCS: Implementation of EU ETS New Entrant Reserve Funding April 2009. Prepared by an industry/NGO group to assist the European Commission in its comitology process.
• Bellona position paper on CCS. December 2008. If the EU ETS quota price remains low, the ETS is not sufficient to ensure wide CCS deployment. Bellona therefore suggested to introduce an emission ceiling of 150 g/kWh for new power plants built after 2010 and for existing plants from 2020.
• Bellona report: Paying for a decent burial - Funding options for an EU program for full-scale demonstration of CO2 capture and storage. The report analyzes different funding options for CCS demonstration projects.
• Bellona report: How to combat global warming. Published June 2008. The report documents that there are technologies and strategies available to reduce global GHG emissions by 85 percent by 2050.
• Scientific paper: A model for the CO2 capture potential. Published in the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Volume 1, October 2007. This paper is widely cited for its documentation of CCS potential. If CCS is widely deployed the global CO₂ emissions can be reduced by 33 percent by 2050 compared to emissions today.

See also

Related sites at the Bellona CCS Web:

• ZEP Fact Sheet

References

• EU Demonstration Programme for CO₂ Capture and Storage (CCS), ZEP's Proposal. Published by ZEP November 20008. Download as PDF
• CO₂ Capture and Storage (CCS) - Matrix of Technologies, Technology Blocks. Published by ZEP October 2008. Download as PDF
• What is CO₂ storage? Putting carbon back where it came from... .Published by ZEP August 2008. Download as PDF
• CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) - Why it is essential to combat global warming. Published by ZEP May 2008. Download as PDF
• Aa. Stangeland, A model for the CO₂ capture potential, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Volume 1, October 2007. Download as PDF.
• Aa. Stangeland, Bellona position paper on CCS, Published by Bellona December 2008. Download as PDF
• E. Hoff, Paying for a decent burial - Funding options for an EU program for full-scale demonstration of CO₂ capture and storage, Bellona report published November 2008. Download as PDF
• L. Birkeland, Burying CO2 - The New EU Directive on Geological Storage of CO2 from a Norwegian Perspective, Bellona report published January 2009. Download as PDF
• Aa. Stangeland et al, How to combat global warming, Bellona report published June 2008. Download as PDF

External links

• ZEP home page