The Dutch government will allocate $726m towards construction of Aramis CCS – the Netherlands’ largest carbon capture project – after energy companies Shell and TotalEnergies withdrew part of their planned funding.
Project partners Gasunie and Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) will take greater control over development of the Aramis CO2 transport infrastructure, starting this month.
Shell and TotalEnergies will remain involved until the final investment decision, expected in 2026, but will focus mainly on the CO2 storage side for once the facility is built.
Once the final investment is confirmed, Gasunie and EBN will jointly own the Aramis pipeline and distribution platform as a 50:50 joint venture.
Once complete, Aramis aims to provide an open-access CO2 pipeline capable of transporting 22 million tonnes of CO2 per year, with operations targeted for the end of the decade. Transported CO2 will be stored permanently beneath depleted gas fields in the North Sea.
©Aramis
“It is good that there is now clarity about the future and hence continuity of the Aramis project,” said Hans Coenen of the executive board of Gasunie.
Shell, TotalEnergies and EBN will continue to develop two offshore CO2 storage sites linked to Aramis.
In addition to Aramis, related infrastructure developments include the ongoing construction of the CO2next terminal by Gasunie, Vopak, Shell and TotalEnergies, and the planned expansion of the Porthos compression station by EBN and Gasunie.
The terminal is a proposed open-access liquid CO2 facility in Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte area. Designed for shipping and receiving liquid CO2 by vessel, it will be connected to the Aramis pipeline.
