Companies Organize Conference on Carbon Use in Energy Recovery Plants and Paths to Reach Paris Agreement Goals

Valorsul and Lipor have organised a conference to debate with leading international specialists the problem of Carbon Capture, Storage and Use generated in the Energy Recovery Plants, with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The debate took place today in Lisbon and was attended by the Minister of the Environment and Climate Action, Duarte Cordeiro. The session was also attended by José Manuel Ribeiro, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lipor, Marta Neves, Chief Executive Officer of Valorsul, and Nuno Lacasta, Chairman of the Board of the Portuguese Environment Agency.

The Paris Agreement, signed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015, established the commitment to move towards carbon neutrality by 2050, with the aim of halting climate change and preventing harmful consequences for the planet. Under debate were the paths, solutions and commitments to be put into practice by organisations and states in the coming years.

Valorsul has been a pioneer in the use of heavy vehicles for the transport of waste powered by natural gas, as well as in the valorisation of the selective flow of bio-waste, which has gained increasing prominence at an environmental level due to the fact that it contributes largely to the reduction of CO2 equivalent emissions. It also continues to work on the transition from the current waste value chain to a resource value chain, maximising the reintroduction of materials into the economy, and to seek low carbon solutions for the company's future treatment plants and collection and transport systems.

According to Marta Neves, Chief Executive Officer of Valorsul, "It is of the utmost urgency that we think about how we are all going to work together in this sector to achieve these important goals of the Paris Agreement, which should be a common concern of private organisations, public bodies and citizens. The goals we have to achieve are already part of Valorsul's strategy. The paths, those yes, are the ones we are discussing today at a high technical level."

At Lipor, there is a clear objective of decarbonisation of the operational activities of Recovery of Municipal Waste produced in the Greater Porto region.

Apart from other initiatives and projects underway, the issue of capturing the CO2 produced at Maia's Energy Recovery Plant is essential for the significant reduction of LIPOR's carbon footprint, besides representing an important asset that will enable the development of a Project for the production of ecological synthetic fuels.

According to José Manuel Ribeiro, Chairman of LIPOR's Board of Directors, "in what the transformation of LIPOR's current business model means, our search for partnerships to develop high added-value products is a reality that is no stranger to highly complex projects, but of very high environmental and even economic value, such as the production of ecological fuels for the aviation sector".

The conference was attended by:

- Fabio Poretti, Technical & Scientific O_cer, CEWEP - Confederation of European Waste to Energy Plants

- Johnny Stuen, CCUS, Hydrogen, WtE/EfW and biogas - project development and Execution

- Rahul Anantharaman, Sintef / TNO - Norwegian Research Institute

- Alicia Mansour, Strategy & Innovation Veolia, Portugal

- Christoph Weber, P2X (H&R Gruppe + Mabanaft), Hamburg

- Pedro Guedes Campos, Smartenergy Portugal

- Pedro Furtado, REN - Redes Energéticas Nacionais

- Lídia Pereira, Member of the European Parliament

- Mark Preston Aragonès, Bellona-Europa | The EU taxonomy and CCSU projects

- Assunção Cristas, Vieira de Almeida/Nova School of Law | Financing CCSU

- Sofia Santos, Systemic

- Kim Brinck, Ramboll

- Sónia Montón Subías, Technip Energies, Norway

General Info

About LIPOR:

LIPOR is the entity responsible for the management, recovery and treatment of municipal waste produced by the associated Municipalities: Espinho, Gondomar, Maia, Matosinhos, Porto, Póvoa de Varzim, Valongo and Vila do Conde.

Every year, LIPOR treats around 500,000 tons of municipal waste produced by 1 million inhabitants. Based on modern Urban Waste Management concepts, LIPOR has developed an integrated strategy for the recovery, treatment and containment of Urban Waste, based on three main components: Multimaterial Recovery, Organic Recovery and Energy Recovery, complemented by a Landfill to receive rejects and previously prepared waste.

By clearly assuming that waste management is carried out from a resource perspective, LIPOR makes every effort towards its most appropriate recovery, an approach based on the projection of a circular business model and supported by projects that demonstrate circular support practices. The Organisation's action allows the consolidation of a positioning that is based on the creation of value in the production cycle, characterised by the reintroduction of "waste" as a "resource" in the value chain.

At a national level, LIPOR intends to be a promoter of the Circular Economy theme, by sharing new strategies and searching for more effective solutions.

About Valorsul:

Valorsul is responsible for the treatment and recovery of urban waste from 19 municipalities in the Lisbon area and Western region: Alcobaça, Alenquer, Amadora, Arruda dos Vinhos, Azambuja, Bombarral, Cadaval, Caldas da Rainha, Lisbon, Loures, Lourinhã, Nazaré, Óbidos, Odivelas, Peniche, Rio Maior, Sobral de Monte Agraço, Torres Vedras, Vila Franca de Xira. Valorsul recovers 15% of all household waste produced in Portugal, serving 1.6 million inhabitants. Valorsul produces and exports to the electrical network 2% of national domestic consumption.

Press contacts

Valorsul:

Susana Silva - Communication and Awareness - Valorsul, SA

Tel. 219535900 Mobile: 961021722 E-mail: susana.silva@valorsul.pt