Swedish energy giant Vattenfall said Tuesday that it had given up its research on CO2 capture and storage, intended to make the company’s coal power plants greener. “Vattenfall will discontinue its R&D (research and development) activities regarding coal power with CCS (carbon capture and storage),” the group said in a statement explaining its new research plans. The state-owned giant had been investing in this technology for more than 10 years, with plans for a power plant equipped with CCS in 2016. Capturing and liquifying CO2 coming from carbon combustion to later store it underground was meant to curb greenhouse effect gas emissions, but its costs and the energy it requires make the technology unviable. These difficulties had already forced Vattenfall to give up in 2011 a large project at a pilot plant in Jaenschwalde, in eastern Germany. The European Union then demanded the reimbursement of funding worth 45 million […]