Construction of first Dutch carbon capture & storage project begins in Rotterdam

Construction of the first large carbon dioxide transportation, and storage system in the Netherlands has started. Crews working on the project, named Porthos, began the first drilling under the sea wall on the Maasvlakte at the Rotterdam port.

A pipeline to transport carbon dioxide will run through that area. The greenhouse gas will travel via the pipeline to be injected into the empty gas fields in the North Sea, where the gas will be permanently stored.

Porthos involves an investment of 1.3 billion euros, and is due to be completed in 2026. The project is from the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) and Gasunie.

The companies Air Liquide, Air Products, ExxonMobil and Shell will capture carbon dioxide and supply it to Porthos. They are putting up the capital to invest in their own capture installations.

Porthos then transports the captured carbon dioxide through the Port of Rotterdam to empty gas fields about 20 kilometers off the Dutch coast. There, the carbon dioxide will be permanently stored under the North Sea bed.

Completion of Porthos will make it possible for the Rotterdam port industrial area to cut their carbon emissions by approximately 10 percent.