EU Funds Awarded for Antwerp@C CO2 Export Hub

EU Funding for CO2 Export Hub

The EU Commission has granted €144.6 million under the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy (CEF-E) program to support the construction of shared CO2 transport and export facilities at the Antwerp port platform. This funding is a significant step towards the final investment decision, expected in 2023.

Project Overview

The Antwerp@C CO2 Export Hub will be an open-access infrastructure designed to transport, liquefy, and load CO2 onto ships for permanent offshore storage. CO2 captured from industrial sites at the Antwerp port will be collected and transported via an intra-port pipeline network. The project includes a CO2 liquefaction unit, buffer storages, and marine loading facilities, making it one of the first and largest multimodal open-access CO2 export facilities globally.

Joint Venture and Technology

Air Liquide and Fluxys plan to form a joint venture to construct and operate the CO2 liquefaction and export terminal. Air Liquide will provide its proprietary CO2 liquefaction technology, while Fluxys will contribute its expertise in terminalling activities. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges has reserved a strategic plot of land for the terminal and will build new quay infrastructures for CO2 ships.

First Phase and Future Goals

This project is the first phase of Antwerp@C, an initiative involving multiple companies with the goal of halving CO2 emissions in the Antwerp port area by 2030. Air Liquide and BASF will be the initial customers through their joint CO2 capture and storage project, Kairos@C. The Antwerp@C CO2 Export Hub will start with an export capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), with plans to scale up to 10 Mtpa by 2030, providing scalable and modular infrastructure for future CCS initiatives in the region.