Transport Solutions for Small-Scale CO2 Emitters in Austria

This thesis addresses the integration of decentralised, small-scale CO2 emitters in Austria into a future national CO2 transport system. While Austria has commissioned a feasibility study for a CO2 pipeline network focusing on major emitters, many potential CO2 point sources remain geographically decentralised or economically unconnectable to the planned pipeline corridors. As a result, these non-pipeline-connected sources require alternative “pre-transport” solutions that can connect them to pipeline feed-in hubs under realistic technical, logistical and economic boundary conditions.
To support source-to-network matching for such emitters under the moderate decarbonisation pathway, this work develops and applies a generalised, hub-based assessment procedure for batch-wise CO2 transport using truck and train transport of liquid CO2 at medium-pressure conditions (14–20 bar). Non-pipeline-connected emitters are identified spatially in the 2050 full expansion scenario, screened for rail accessibility and assigned to co-location or cluster hubs near pipeline corridors. Road and rail distances are then determined and used as inputs to a uniform cost model that compares specific transport costs (€/t) for truck and, if feasible, train. Where cost differences are small, an environmental comparison based on operational transport emissions is applied as a secondary decision criterion.
The results demonstrate that a decentralised integration is feasible through hub-based transport to pipeline connection points. In total, 54 non-pipeline-connected emitters are assessed, where 33 have a direct rail accessibility. One-way road distances range from 6–114 km (median 32 km), while rail distances vary from 5–145 km (median 39.9 km). Truck-specific transport costs are between 1.4–40.3 €/t (median 7.6 €/t), whereas rail-specific transport costs range from 0.7–21.3 €/t (median 7.4 €/t). The final mode recommendation assigns 34 emitters to truck and 19 to rail transport, including cases where rail is selected due to lower operational emissions at similar cost levels. Overall, the findings underline the importance of hub-oriented network design for fair feed-in possibilities across regions and indicate that bundling along shared routes can further reduce costs and rail network utilisation, especially for train-based transport.