Eight leading players in the port of Antwerp area – Air Liquide, BASF, Borealis, INEOS, ExxonMobil, Fluxys, Port of Antwerp and Total – have signed a collaboration agreement as the first move towards the possible development of Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage (CCUS) infrastructure.
Port of Antwerp is considering this as another important step in the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon port.
The consortium will carry out a joint study into the technical and economic feasibility of such facilities. CCUS applications form a promising avenue for achieving the port’s climate objectives.
More impact through collaboration
Thanks to the presence of the largest energy & chemicals cluster in Europe, Port of Antwerp is the ideal location to foster collaboration between companies and take innovative steps towards CO2 reduction, according to the release. The new facilities will be available to the entire port community.
Port of Antwerp says that international collaboration will be needed because Belgium does not have suitable geological strata for storing CO2 offshore.
Feasibility study and finance
The detailed analysis is expected to take around one year to complete. In the meantime wide financial support is available from Flanders, the Belgian federal government and the EU for further successful implementation of the project.