Cargo sous Terrain can lead to breakthroughs in CO2 storage

Cargo sous terrain (CST) not only excels with its climate-friendly freight logistics. The project also has the potential to help breakthrough future technology for CO2 storage by establishing the necessary transport lines in Switzerland. CST is now launching a pilot project to demonstrate the feasibility of the process.

(Basel) In light of the advancing climate crisis, the capture and permanent storage of CO₂ underground, alongside emission reductions, is a necessary measure to achieve net-zero targets and limit global warming. This process is called Carbon Capture and Storage (⁠CCS⁠) and is under development in various locations. In Switzerland, this application is intended for hard-to-abate emissions, such as those from cement production or waste management, according to the Federal Council.

In the Netherlands, Norway, and Iceland, companies are working to provide underground storage capacities that they offer to interested states as CO₂ storage. In Switzerland, such geological storage sites would first need to be explored and developed. A feasibility study published last September concluded that only a CO₂ pipeline can provide the capacity for economically viable exports of large quantities of the climate-damaging gas. According to a roadmap for the expansion of CCS and Negative Emission Technologies (NET) from May 2022, the federal government is examining regulatory options and concrete proposals by the end of 2024.

The underground logistics of CST spans a network from Geneva to St. Gallen and from Basel to Lucerne, with an additional branch from Bern to Thun. This routing is suitable for efficiently disposing of a large portion of Switzerland’s CO₂ point sources, namely waste incineration plants and cement works. A prerequisite for this is the installation of a pipeline under the roadway in the CST tunnel, where space for lines is already available. Therefore, the board of directors of Cargo sous terrain AG decided at its last meeting to plan this CO₂ pipeline as part of the new infrastructure.

Feasibility study in the coming months

As part of a feasibility study, the technical, economic, and legal framework conditions of this subproject within CST will be examined in the coming months in collaboration with industry and logistics partners. Since there will not be a European pipeline network for transporting CO₂ available for a long time, CST plans to export via ships through the Basel Rhine port. With this, CST aims to complement its environmental advantages as a logistics system by actively contributing to achieving Swiss climate goals with CCS.

Foto: © Cargo sous Terrain