Netherlands relies on offshore storage

25.02.2026

Source: E & M powernews

The German Carbon Management Initiative presented the CCS projects Porthos and Aramis in the Netherlands in a webinar. Early participation creates more acceptance.

The geological storage of carbon dioxide under the seabed is considered a building block for effective carbon management in energy and industrial policy. However, technical issues alone do not determine the success of a project. As part of a webinar, the German Carbon Management Initiative (DCMI) focused on social acceptance and presented practical examples from the Netherlands.

Jeanette Quak, Stakeholder Manager for the Porthos project, described how the project off the Dutch coast is organized. Porthos is a joint venture between EBN, Gasunie and the Port of Rotterdam Authority. The project company is building an infrastructure for the transportation and storage of CO2. Industrial customers such as Air Liquide, Air Products, ExxonMobil and Shell capture the CO2 and feed it into the system.

Project Porthos

The captured CO2 is first transported via an underground collection pipeline system to existing pipeline sections in the Maasvlakte, Europoort and Botlek industrial areas. Compressor stations then compress the gas to the pressure required for transportation and injection. An offshore pipeline transports the CO2 around 20 kilometers off the coast to the former P18-A gas platform. There, the project team injects the CO2 at a depth of more than three kilometers into depleted gas fields under the North Sea.

The porous sandstone reservoir is suitable for permanent geological storage. The Porthos project managers estimate the total volume at 37 megatons. Up to 2.5 megatons per year are to be stored over a period of 15 years, with construction starting in the first quarter of 2024 and commissioning planned for 2026. Quak emphasized in the webinar that the project team had sought discussions with numerous stakeholders at an early stage.

In addition to the South Holland region and the city of Rotterdam, these included neighbouring municipalities, the port police, fire department, emergency services, industrial companies, fishermen, the shipping industry, environmental organizations and local residents. The aim was to make plans transparent and to include concerns at an early stage. Additional expert opinions or lawsuits could otherwise delay projects considerably.

Awareness of the issue has grown in the Netherlands. According to the speakers, the first CCS projects on land failed due to protests from local residents. They feared gas leaks and a loss in value of their property. In addition, earthquakes caused by gas extraction in other regions had led to damage to buildings. In the opinion of the project representatives, CO2 storage on land is therefore hardly politically feasible at present.

Aramis project

The Aramis project also relies on offshore storage. Joep Sweyen, Public Affairs Lead for the project, explained that Aramis is being designed as an open-access infrastructure. The partnership includes EBN, Gasunie, Total Energies and Shell. The project envisages an approximately 200 kilometer long offshore pipeline with a capacity of 22 megatons per year in dense phase. Storage is also to take place in depleted gas fields, including those of Shell, Total Energies and Eni.

Aramis differs from Porthos in several respects. While Porthos is strongly focused on the Rotterdam industrial cluster and uses a 20-kilometer offshore connection, Aramis has a more cross-border perspective. The system will enable connections to several European clusters, including the Delta Rhine and Delta Scheldt corridors. Gasunie in the Netherlands and OGE in Germany are developing corresponding infrastructures for hydrogen and CO2 for the Delta Rhine corridor. Commissioning is planned for 2032 or 2033.

Sweyen pointed out that the newly elected Dutch government also supports the projects. She announced additional aid for 2025. Issuers received funding commitments from the SDE++ program in the years 2022 to 2024. A budget of eight billion euros is planned for 2026, with further funding announced for 2027 to 2032. Final approvals were granted in 2025, but are not yet irrevocable according to the project managers. Aramis is aiming for final investment decisions in 2026 to 2027, with a planned start of operations by 2030.

According to the speakers, both projects are benefiting from increasing political integration at EU level. Adjustments to European initiatives such as the Net-Zero Industry Act and cross-border funding instruments strengthen planning security. Aramis also received EU funding for CO2 infrastructure.

Author: Susanne Harmsen