The CO2next project has entered a new project phase, awarding its Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract to Sener. During the FEED phase the design, the realisation schedule and the cost of the proposed CO2next terminal will be further defined, the relevant permits can be received and customers will be contracted in preparation for the Final Investment Decision (FID) currently planned for 2025.
Initially led by Gasunie and Vopak, the CO2 next project CO2next aims to build an open-access liquid CO2 terminal at the Maasvlakte in the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, that can be used by customers not connected to a CO2 pipeline to ship liquid CO2. The terminal will be able to receive and deliver liquid CO2 via vessels and will be connected to depleted gas fields in the North Sea via the Aramis trunkline for storage. It can also be leveraged as a part of other CCS chains and a potential future Carbon Utilisation Industry.
CO2 infrastructure is critical in the context of the Dutch climate agreement and the European Green Deal. The CO2next terminal also contributes to the infrastructure and facilitates CO2 reduction for the industry in Northwest Europe and a CO2-neutral port in Rotterdam by 2050. The terminal will be a critical piece of CO2 infrastructure which can be leveraged as part of the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) chain. The technical feasibility and development of the CCS chain is being jointly explored with the Aramis CCS project, to which the terminal will be connected.
Potential customers for the CO2next terminal were approached in 2022, which to date has led to several customers who are keen to leverage the open access terminal for their decarbonisation needs. The terminal has a launch capacity of approximately 5.4 Mtpa (million tonnes per annum), and a potential to grow its capacity to approximately 15 Mtpa, depending on market demand and the development of the Aramis project and other CCS chains.
Following the FID planned for 2025, subject to permits being granted by relevant authorities, the CO2next terminal is currently foreseen to commence commercial operations in 2028. Shell and TotalEnergies have joined the development of the CO2next project, which to date was led by Gasunie and Vopak. The CO2next project is subject to customary competition clearance, which the project partners will perform before FID in due course.
Fulco van Geuns, project director at CO2next says: ‘We are pleased to see the CO2next project firming up. Carbon Capture and Storage is recognised as required to enable the decarbonisation of the hard to abate industries and we see a clear role for such a liquid CO2 terminal in the European CO2 infrastructure. The same infrastructure may also be required to enable a Carbon Utilisation industry in future. We welcome Shell and TotalEnergies to the partnership and are looking forward to jointly deliver this project.’
