IN SPAIN: The European Commission has approved a €260 million ($422.5 million) Belgian measure for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, Kairos@C.
The measure will contribute to Belgium’s climate targets by decarbonising the industry through an integrated cross-border CCS value chain, in line with the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal, which will result in around 20 million tonnes of net greenhouse gas emissions avoided over 15 years.
Kairos@C aims at capturing greenhouse gas emissions from the companies’ existing plants, located in Antwerp, that produce hydrogen, ammonia and ethylene oxide.
The CO2 captured will be transported to a permanent underground storage site in the North Sea. The commission says the project will allow the beneficiaries to produce low-carbon hydrogen and low-carbon ammonia.
As part of the state aid, the measure will be financed through the budget of the Flemish region. The aid will take the form of a direct investment grant of €30 million per beneficiary, which will be complemented by an additional grant that will be paid out in ten annual installments of €10 million per beneficiary.
In 2022, Belgium’s greenhouse gas emissions were 106.5 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent, representing a 0.4% decrease from the previous year’s levels and 8.6% pre-pandemic levels.
According to the European Environment Agency, projections under the ‘with additional measures’ scenario suggests that a 43% reduction in effort sharing regulations (ESR) emissions would be achieved by 2030 by implementing specific measures.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
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