The challenge of climate neutrality
The challenge of limiting global warming is one of the biggest challenges ever faced by mankind. Reducing industrial CO2 emissions will be key to achieve the goals as defined by The Paris agreement, the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Package and many other regional, national and international policies.
The opportunity for North Sea Port
The climate challenge is prominently present in the North Sea Port area, with an annual emission of over 20 million ton CO2. However, the fact that these emissions mainly originate from point sources also represents an opportunity to make use of this CO2 and convert it to high-end products such as chemicals and e-fuels via Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU). Other factors strengthening this opportunity are:
- The high voltage grid connection renewable energy from off-shore wind on the North Sea
- The presence of a cluster of chemical companies using C1 products
- The availability of storage capacity and land area
- The presence of an innovation and knowledge cluster with track record in energy and (bio)chemical technology
CCU
In its 2018 report on ‘Novel carbon capture and utilisation technologies’, the European Commission defined CCU as the capture of anthropogenic CO2 and its subsequent use in a synthesis process, transforming CO2 into high value products with commercial value. This is the clearly the scope of the North-CCU-Hub consortium