No fairy tale: Our game-changing carbon capture project
What do ski slopes, carbon emissions and Hans Christian Andersen all have in common? The answer lies in our new carbon capture technology project being planned for the writer’s home town of Copenhagen
CopenCapture is a partnership project between E.ON, the Amager Resource Center (ARC) waste company, the Danish government, and local communities to create a more sustainable, low-carbon future.
Based at the renowned Danish waste-to-energy plant CopenHill – which is already famous for its incredible design which includes a ⛷️ski slope on its roof – E.ON and ARC will be working to transform the plant into an international flagship for carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The Copenhagen project has an ambitious target of capturing 400,000 tonnes of CO2 each year from CopenHill. Once captured, the CO2 will be safely stored underground, preventing it from entering the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.
Why focus on waste-to-energy?
Electrification – switching to heat pumps to provide heating and hot water across homes and businesses – has huge potential to reduce many types of emissions, but we don’t yet have the technologies to completely eliminate the need for treating waste responsibly and we still need solutions for dealing with waste that can’t be recycled or reused.
Waste-to-energy plants such as CopenHill are the best available solution and can play a key role in modern cities because they help to turn that waste into usable energy, such as heat and electricity. To do that – and just like many other industrial processes – they also produce carbon emissions. That's where CCS technology comes in, as it captures these emissions before they reach the atmosphere and stores them underground.
At CopenHill, much of the emissions come from burning what’s called ‘biogenic’ materials, like contaminated paper and cardboard which can’t otherwise be recycled.
By capturing this CO2, we actually remove it from the atmosphere, which is known as negative emissions.
Denmark is already a leader in renewable energy and environmental sustainability, with significant government support for projects like CopenCapture. The country’s commitment to becoming the world’s first climate-neutral capital aligns perfectly with CopenCapture’s goals.
The new partnership agreement marks that E.ON is applying for prequalification in the Danish Energy Agency’s CCS tender, which mandates full CO2 capture by 2030.
At E.ON, we understand tackling climate change requires creative thinking, bold partnerships, and innovative solutions. By supporting Copenhagen’s decarbonisation goals, we’re not just participating in a local effort—we’re contributing to a global movement toward climate solutions.