CCS (carbon capture and storage) is the process of capturing CO₂ and storing it underground

• CCS is a way to capture and store CO₂.
• The benefit of CCS is that it captures carbon emissions before they reach the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, which is better for the climate.
• CCS is a temporary solution until other sustainable technologies are ready to take over. It buys the industrial sector time to green their operations.
• Gasunie is involved in a number of CCS initiatives in the Netherlands, working with partners to prepare infrastructure for various projects, including Porthos, Aramis and CO₂next.
• While CCS in itself is a tried-and-tested process, storing CO₂ in empty offshore gas fields is relatively new. Extensive research is being done on the subject, but what is clear is that carbon storage below the North Sea bed can be done safely. In Norway, they have been doing it since 1996.
• CO₂ can also be reused, for example in horticulture.

CCS keeps CO₂ emitted by industrial processes from being released into the atmosphere, thus preventing further warming of the Earth. This is how we fight climate change together.

For energy-intensive industries, such as refineries, cement and chemical plants, it is difficult to switch to carbon-neutral processes very quickly. This is where CCS comes in as a way to cut carbon emissions into the atmosphere in the short term and thus contribute to the energy transition.

Using CCS as an interim solution buys these industries more time to work on sustainable solutions for climate-neutral operations. Carbon capture and storage is a necessary, temporary transitional technology in the energy transition.

Together with its partners, Gasunie is creating infrastructure to host the CCS supply chain from capture to storage, so as to ultimately achieve sustainability.

Having been transporting energy in a safe, reliable and economical way for many decades, Gasunie has amassed ample gas infrastructure expertise that it now wants to harness for CCS. Perhaps as an infrastructure developer and operator in the long term, but also during the phase preceding that: as a driving force behind the development of CCS and a uniting force between the various parties in the CCS supply chain.

Setting up a CCS network calls for a joining of forces. Gasunie boasts extensive experience with multi-party collaborations on major infrastructural projects.

Gasunie is involved in two collaborative projects for carbon transport to and storage in empty North Sea gas fields: Porthos and Aramis. Options in the Delta Region (province of Zeeland and Flanders) and the area stretching from the port of Rotterdam to the German border (Delta Rhine Corridor) are also being explored. In addition, Gasunie, Vopak, Shell andTotalEnergies are looking into whether it would be possible and viable to build a reception terminal for liquid CO₂ at the Maasvlakte industrial area (the CO₂next project).

How exactly does CCS work? Burning or gasifying a fossil fuel such as natural gas or oil produces flue gas. This gas ends up in a carbon-capture system where CO₂ is separated from other gases.

The CO₂ is subsequently transported by pipeline or ship. In many cases, the CO₂ gas will be compressed or cooled to liquefy it, which makes the CO₂ gas more efficient to transport.

Captured CO₂ will be stored in rock layers at least three kilometres below the Dutch sector of the North Sea. These rock layers previously contained natural gas, which was trapped inside for millions of years. That natural gas has now been extracted from these fields, leaving space for carbon storage.

After the CO₂ has been transported below ground through pipelines, the fields are sealed to prevent the carbon dioxide from being able to escape.

Gasunie is jointly building the infrastructure for various CCS projects and fulfils a uniting role between government and market parties. Gasunie is involved in the Porthos, Aramis, CO₂next and Delta Rhine Corridor projects.

The big pro of CCS is that it captures carbon emissions before they reach the atmosphere as greenhouse gases. Industries can, therefore, keep using fossil fuels for the time being while CCS limits the damage it does to the climate. And they can at the same time develop processes without carbon emissions.

While CCS in itself is a tried-and-tested process, storing CO₂ in empty gas fields is relatively new. This is why it is still the subject of extensive research. What is clear, however, is that carbon storage below the North Sea bed can be done safely. In Norway, they have been doing it since 1996.

CCS will obviously require investment, because there is no ready-made infrastructure available that can accommodate carbon capture and storage.

Critics are pointing out that the time, energy and money invested in CCS is time, energy and money that cannot be put into developing carbon-neutral energy sources and solutions. Advocates argue that CCS will actually enable industry to reduce their carbon emissions faster and at the same time work on further greening their operations. Without CCS, it will be virtually impossible for many industries to achieve their climate goals on time.

For a long time, CCS was even more expensive than emitting CO₂. This changed in 2021, however, when the European Commission started eliminating the surplus of carbon emission allowances that had accumulated in the market, which pushed up the price. This ended up balancing out the costs of emitting CO₂ and the costs of CCS, ultimately making CCS an interesting option for industry from an economic perspective as well.

On top of that, the Dutch government incentivises carbon capture and storage. As of 2020, Dutch industry can get financial support for CCS projects under a subsidy scheme that seeks to promote the production of renewable energy (Stimulering Duurzame Energieproductie, or SDE++).