Domesticating technology: Sociotechnical imaginaries of carbon capture and storage in Denmark

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has in recent years gained new attention in national and corporate strategies for achieving climate goals. This is for instance seen in Denmark, where CCS was positioned as the largest single mitigation tool in the 2020 Climate Programme. As an example of how international imaginaries of mitigation technologies translate into national settings, this paper explores how CCS was brought into, adapted and adopted in Danish climate policy. Drawing on document analysis, webinar observation and semi-structured interviews, we identity four arguments (necessity, ability, capacity and opportunity) that various actors mobilise to develop a shared sociotechnical imaginary of a CCS-dependent climate future. These arguments are supported by maps and numbers that act as objective truths, serve performative roles and legitimise the future imaginary. We argue that maps and numbers function as tools for domesticating CCS in three ways: nationalising, utilising and controlling technology as well as the opposition to it. We conclude that maps and numbers, through domestication, naturalise and depoliticise the STI of a CCS-dependent future. While this may not be intentional by the actors involved, it illustrates the ability of artefacts and arguments to devise specific techno-political pathways.