[NGW Magazine] Dutch Aim for Carbon Capture & Use

The Dutch are hoping to find users for industrial emissions of carbon dioxide, as reinjection into the North Sea alone will not meet the government’s ambitious targets. 

One of the main goals of the so-called Rutte III Dutch government is to raise the rate of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to 18mn metric tons/yr by 2030. Achieving this will require new pipelines and some other infrastructure. The larger picture not only involves CCS but also using CO₂.

The port of Rotterdam is already working on a plan to capture CO₂ produced by industry in the port area, to transport it by pipelines and to store it under the North Sea, in the depleted gas field P18. The port authority has started talks with several possible partners and any interested parties should decide whether or not to take part in the 'Rotterdam Nucleus' some time next year.

If they agree, it could lead to the injection of 2mn mt/yr from 2020 and 5mn mt/yr from 2030. This however will – even at peak – be just a sixth of today’s 30mn mt/yr output from the entire industrial port cluster. 

The project will entail laying an east-west pipeline across the entire port area and forming a ring under the sea, into which industrial companies may inject their gas.

The onshore part of this pipeline would be about 40 km. Although the line does not depend on input from power generators, it does depend on the carbon price. If the European certificates cost less than the cost of connection, companies will prefer to buy certificates instead of paying for the use of the pipeline. Rotterdam therefore is calling for a CO₂ tax.

A public or semi-public entity would be responsible for the use of the pipeline system, as private companies are not expected to embrace the long-term responsibility for the safe storage of large volumes of CO₂. 

Just six months ago power generators Engie and Uniper pulled back from their plan, the Road. This project foresaw injections of about 1mn mt/yr from their joint coal-fired power plant in the Rotterdam port area. Although subsidies had been approved by the Dutch government and the European Union, the two companies were deterred by the prospect of the high construction costs in combination with the possible compulsory closure of the plant.

Dutch CO₂ pipelines are operated by Ocap (credit: Ocap)

The reluctance of Dutch companies to embark on CCS projects can be explained in part by the experience of Barendrecht, also in the Rotterdam area. In 2010, Shell jumped on a government tender to inject CO₂ into the depleted Barendrecht field. This project met so much resistance from local inhabitants that it had to be abandoned. This case showed how important good communication is.

The largest and most successful project until now is the supply of CO₂ from the Shell-refinery in Pernis (near Rotterdam) and from an Alco bio-ethanol plant to about 500 greenhouse horticulture farms in south Holland. The CO₂ here is a residual product from the production of hydrogen. The transport of CO₂ by pipelines is managed by Ocap, a subsidiary of German technology firm Linde. There are also smaller projects that also rely on offtakers in the horticulture business.

Storing CO₂ under the North Sea would benefit Ocap and the nurseries, Ocap told NGW. "The vegetation in the greenhouses can absorb only a small part of the CO₂ for growth. Most of it disappears in the air. During the winter, the nurserymen do not need additional CO₂, as the CO₂-emission of their heating installations is sufficient. But when additional CO₂ is supplied during the summer period, the heating systems can be turned off.

Because there is a large difference in demand during the seasons and because there are fluctuations in CO₂ production in Pernis, buffering for peak demands can be very useful. Its main advantage however is the achievement of a near 100% reliability. This is the key factor that nurseries need in order to switch over to our pipelines and to turn off their gas fired heating installations.” And as the Netherlands gradually reduces both the production and use of natural gas, Ocap told NGW: "This can create opportunities to use the existing gas pipelines to transport CO₂. It is far less expensive to use existing pipelines than to construct new ones." 

Still at a very embryonic phase is the CO₂ Smart Grid project, which was set up by over 25 partners, including: the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam; the manufacturer Tata Steel; and natural gas transport system operator Gasunie. It aims to hitch its wagon to the port's train, by using the same pipelines. This project also wants to offer CO₂ for practical use, to industrial customers. The project partners aim to reuse at least 8mn mt/yr of CO₂ within 15 years.

This amounts to about 5% of total Dutch greenhouse gas emissions: "Power plants, waste incinerators, steel manufacturers and other high energy industries are eligible for CO₂ capture. The number of possible applications to use this CO₂ is growing," Ocap says. "A feasibility study will shortly be conducted, based upon the outcome of which the authorities and companies can decide their next steps. Efforts will be made to complete all the decision-making by 2020, with regard to building a so-called smart CO₂-grid. But for a real take-off, government subsidies are necessary."

Belgian plans lag 

In neighbouring Belgium, CCS is even less developed. The port of Antwerp, less than 60 km from Rotterdam, likes to see Rotterdam as the benchmark. In November 2017, the Antwerp port authority purchased an existing grid of pipelines in and near the port area. Totalling almost 720 km, this network is vital for the operations of the petrochemical companies in the port area.

"Transport by pipelines is very important for the cost efficiency of the logistics chains of those companies, says the CEO of the port authority Jacques Vandermeiren. "The initial investment cost is, however, often a barrier to switching to transport by pipelines. We bought the existing grid to enlarge it. This way, our companies can step in with fewer costs."

Today the Antwerp pipeline grid is mainly used to transport ethylene, propylene and technical gases. "In view of the transition towards a carbon low energy supply Vandermeiren also expresses the idea of using the pipelines to transport not only CO₂, but also hydrogen and hot water for district heating.

Koen Mortelmans