Dow, ArcelorMittal, Yara and more join cross-border carbon-capture consortium

Capturing CO₂ then reusing it or storing it underground is one way to meet climate targets. Under the wings of Smart Delta Resources, a cross-border consortium of companies is taking the first step towards using this approach to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions in North Sea Port, the Belgian-Dutch area covering the port of Ghent in Belgium and the ports of Terneuzen and Vlissingen in the Netherlands.

The Carbon Connect Delta consortium is a cross-border partnership whose members include Smart Delta Resources, port authority North Sea Port, industrial companies ArcelorMittal, Dow Benelux, PZEM, Yara, Zeeland Refinery, and gas infrastructure operators Gasunie and Fluxys. Smart Delta Resources is an international partnership whose members include energy- and raw-material-intensive companies operating in the Scheldt Delta region.

Capturing and reusing or storing CO₂ (Carbon Capture & Utilization/Storage, or CCUS for short) may make it possible to cut CO₂ emissions in the North Sea Port area by 30% (a reduction of 6.5 million tons of CO₂ per year). With this in mind, Fluxys and the other members of a Belgian-Dutch consortium have launched the Carbon Connect Delta project, which will initially set out to examine the feasibility of CCUS.

Many large CCUS projects are in various phases of development, including: the Port of Antwerp’s Antwerp@c project; the Northern Lights project in Norway ; Project Tundra in North Dakota;  pilot project at Scandinavia’s largest refinery; and Total’s partnership with Cambridge Quantum Computing.

The consortium will analyze every aspect, taking in the technical, economic and legal considerations, the infrastructure required to transport CO₂ by pipeline or ship, financing options, commercial feasibility and permitting. It expects to complete its feasibility study in late 2020 and aims to capture 1 million tons of CO₂ annually from 2023 onwards, rising to 6.5 million tonnes a year by 2030. In so doing, Carbon Connect Delta would make a major contribution towards meeting the Paris climate targets and fulfilling the objectives set by the more recent European Green Deal.

With their wide network and broad knowledge and expertise, the consortium partners have everything it takes to make the Carbon Connect Delta project a success. Moreover, the fact that the consortium works in a range of industrial sectors (chemicals, petrochemicals and steel) and liaises with the relevant authorities in both countries creates unique synergies and opportunities for a sustainable economy.