Dutch government to provide €2.1bn Porthos CCS subsidy

LONDON (ICIS)–Porthos Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project partners Shell, ExxonMobil, AirLiquid and Air Products have been informed they will receive government subsidy to store captured CO2 emissions in the Dutch section of the North Sea, a Port of Rotterdam spokesperson told ICIS on Monday.

The spokesperson informed ICIS that the Dutch government will subsidise the difference between the cost of storing CO2 via the Porthos system and the emissions trading scheme (ETS) price, as long as the cost of CCS is higher than the carbon price.

“This is for the whole period of the project, so 15 years. The four companies together will capture some 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually during that period, so 37-38 [million tonnes of CO2] in total,” the spokesperson explained.

The Dutch government has made available €2.1bn for the subsidy, however the spending figure may vary depending on fluctuations in the carbon price throughout the duration of the project.

Porthos CCS was established by the Port of Rotterdam, Dutch transmission system operator (TSO) Gasunie and EBN, an energy company owned by the Dutch government. The four project partners will pay Porthos for transporting and storing their captured CO2.

Final Investment Decision (FID) is due to be made in 2022. The Port of Rotterdam spokesperson said that subsidy support was vital for helping with FID, calling the absence of support a potential showstopper.

According to information on the Porthos project website, as soon as FID is taken the construction of the infrastructure can start, with expected operations by 2024.

HYDROGEN AT THE PORT OF ROTTERDAM

The Port of Rotterdam is also the location of a large-scale blue hydrogen project known as H-Vision. H-Vision is yet to undergo FID, but once operational it could produce 700,000 normal cubic metres of hydrogen (roughly 2.5GWh) per hour for use in industry and for local power generation.

Part of the H-Vision project relies on the establishment of a CCS transport and storage network, meaning the development of Porthos is pivotal to blue hydrogen generation in the region.

“The pipeline through the port area is designed with a capacity to transport up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually. So a future development like H-Vision can relatively easily attach to the infrastructure,” the spokesperson added.