Alternatives for the Eemshaven Power Plant: an assessment of potential technologies

Natuur & Milieu commissioned CE Delft to assess the technical and economic feasibility of various options for the future role of the Eemshaven power plant within the energy system. The owner, RWE, is considering a transition after 2030 to woody biomass in combination with carbon capture and storage (CCS-BECCS).
CE Delft also examined conversion to a hydrogen-fired power plant, an iron powder-fired power plant, and thermal energy storage to drive the generators.

For all technologies assessed, it should be noted that they are not currently deployed in this form or at the scale of the Eemshaven power plant, and that there are therefore significant uncertainties regarding their feasibility within a five-year timeframe. For the longer term, towards 2040, the following considerations apply:

• BECCS is expected to have the lowest cost per MWh of electricity generated. However, the Carbon Removal Roadmap of the Ministry of Climate and Green Growth indicates that government support for large-scale BECCS is unlikely. This is because it states that low-value applications of sustainable biomass, such as electricity generation, should be phased out as much as possible, and that BECCS cannot be deployed flexibly.
• Iron powder is expected to have the highest costs, and the Eemshaven does not appear to be a logical location for this technology.
• It does not appear to be technically feasible to convert the existing coal-fired power plant into a hydrogen-fired power plant. A newly built hydrogen-fired power plant could, however, be an option.
• The thermal energy storage option is theoretically attractive, as costs appear to be lower than those of iron powder and hydrogen-fired power plants. However, the technical feasibility at the required scale is uncertain.