Gas infrastructure company Gasunie and bulk liquid storage provider Royal Vopak (Vopak) announce that the companies will jointly investigate the feasibility for developing a distribution hub for the handling and temporary storage of CO₂ in the Netherlands. Gasunie and Vopak are currently conducting the joint construction of Gate terminal, the first Dutch import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Rotterdam. The companies want to explore the possibilities for creating a CO₂ distribution hub in The Netherlands, where gaseous and/or liquefied CO₂ can be received from the CO₂ emitters and where these volumes subsequently can be discharged in large seagoing vessels or transferred to pipeline networks for transportation to the numerous depleted offshore gas fields.

John Paul Broeders, Chairman of the Executive Board of Vopak and Marcel Kramer, Chairman of the Executive Board of Gasunie jointly comment:
'The shared vision of Gasunie and Vopak to investigate the possibilities could lead to the development of new solutions for CO₂ capture and temporary storage in The Netherlands, in either gaseous or liquefied form. This could mean an important contribution to the Dutch sustainability objectives.'

As part of the Dutch climate change mitigation policies, the Dutch government expects a substantial reduction of the CO₂ emissions from the power generators and other industrial activities. Energy efficiency and renewables alone will not be sufficient to timely meet the policy targets for CO₂ reduction. For this reason plans are currently being developed to capture CO₂ and for the transshipment and permanent storage of CO₂ in depleted gas fields in the North Sea. A potential CO₂ distribution hub in the Rotterdam area could benefit from Gate terminal’s presence with regard to the available cold energy.

Profile Gasunie
Gasunie is a European gas infrastructure company. Its network ranks among the largest high pressure gas pipeline grids in Europe, consisting of over 15,000 kilometres of pipeline in the Netherlands and northern Germany, dozens of installations and approximately 1,300 gas receiving stations. The annual gas throughput totals approximately 125 billion cubic metres. Gasunie serves the public interest in the markets in which it is active and works to create value for its stakeholders. Gasunie is the first gas infrastructure company with a cross-border network in Europe and offers transport services via its subsidiaries Gas Transport Services B.V. (GTS) in the Netherlands and Gasunie Deutschland in Germany. Gasunie also offers other services in the gas infrastructure field, including gas storage and LNG. The company considers the wishes of its customers to be of prime importance. Gasunie aims for the highest standards in safety, reliability, efficiency and sustainability. Due to the reliability and its strategic location in relation to expanding international gas flows, the Gasunie network forms the core of what is called the ‘gas roundabout’ of northwest Europe.

Profile Royal Vopak
Vopak is the world’s largest independent tank terminal operator specialising in the storage and handling of liquid and gaseous chemical and oil products. On request, Vopak can provide complementary logistic services for customers at its terminals. Vopak operates 80 terminals with a storage capacity of almost 28 million cubic meters in 32 countries. The terminals are strategically located for users and the major shipping routes. The majority of its customers are companies operating in the chemical and oil industries, for which Vopak stores a large variety of products destined for a wide range of industries.

For more information: pers@gasunie.nl