The Port of Antwerp brought seven chemical and energy companies together at the end of 2019 to explore the technological and economic viability of the development of the port 's CO2 infrastructure.

Air Liquide, BASF, Borealis, ExxonMobil, INEOS, Fluxys, the Port of Antwerp and Total are all part of the consortium.

As explained, the partners aim to keep CO2 out of the atmosphere and, as such, to make a substantial contribution to climate goals through CO2 capture and use or storage applications, both within a reasonably short period of time and at reasonable costs.

The grant of the Connecting Europe Facility will encourage partners to carry out studies to link the Netherlands to a liquid CO2 export terminal, a CO2 backbone inside the Port of Antwerp and a CO2 cross border pipeline.

Both subsidies amount to approximately EUR 9 million ($10.6 million). Antwerp@C is approaching a new milestone with this financial help and can take it one step further.

The consortium plans to potentially minimize CO2 emissions by half inside the port between now and 2030.

“The time is now to make the transition towards a carbon neutral economy. Europe leads the way on a global stage. With Antwerp@C, the port of Antwerp has the key to realize an innovative cross-border CCUS-project, a first of a kind in its concept and scale,” Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of the Port of Antwerp, stated.

Maritime Business World