Industrial CO2 transport in Germany: Comparison of pipeline routing scenarios

Carbon capture and storage will be necessary for some industries to reach carbon neutrality. One of the main associated challenges is the design of the network linking the CO₂ sources to the storage sites. Establishing a CO₂ network can be impacted by many uncertainties such as CO₂ amounts, pipeline routes and the locations of emitters and carbon sinks. We present a framework to investigate different scenarios of a future CO₂ network in Germany. The analyses compare the routes and associated costs of different scenarios. The developed model uses several geospatial datasets and an optimization scheme to yield realistic and cost-efficient outcomes. Parameters such as population density and existing infrastructure are integrated to calculate potential routes, which are then used as an input for the developed heuristic model to determine the optimum network. The derived framework is flexible and can be used for investigating other scenarios, regions and settings. The results show that the different scenarios have a profound impact on the optimal layout and costs. The investment costs of the investigated scenarios range between 1.3 and 3 billion EUR. The outcomes are important for academia, industry and policymaking for the ongoing discussions regarding the development of carbon infrastructure.