ACCTS

ACCTS is a collaborative study in which the technical and financial feasibility of CO₂ capture at six different chemical sites in the Port of Antwerp is investigated, as well as different scenarios for the local transport of the captured CO₂. The results of the study will contribute to the general goal of the Antwerp@C consortium to start the development of infrastructure for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the chemical cluster of the Port of Antwerp.

Context

With the revised emissions trading system (ETS), the European Commission has a powerful tool at its disposal to help realise the reductions in the energy-intensive sectors (e.g.refineries, steel, chemicals). From 2020 on, the EC will launch the Innovation Fund for 2021-2030, which will put part of the revenues of the ETS at the disposal of companies investing in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

With yearly GHG emissions of around 18 million tonnes of CO2eq the Antwerp port platform is a significant emitter on a national scale. The fuel & chemical cluster is characterized by its high level of integration. Due to many efforts over the last years, production facilities in the Port of Antwerp are among the best performers in the world in terms of energy-efficiency. More efforts will be needed to reach the high European ambitions (a low carbon, or even carbon neutral economy by 2050). Both Carbon Capture & Utilisation (CCU) and Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) are solutions which could generate a considerable impact.

The Antwerp Port Authority, in its role as community builder, aims to facilitate and contribute to valuable initiatives in the port leading to a more sustainable future. Driven by the funding opportunity created by the EU Innovation Fund (where CCUS has been defined as one of the main themes), the Antwerp Port Authority, together with various stakeholders including a number of chemical companies, would like to assess the feasibility and potential of Carbon Capture installations and CO2 transport infrastructure in the Port of Antwerp.

Goals

The proposed feasibility study will consist of two components, capture and transport, both essential in order to assess if the port of Antwerp can/will further proceed with the development of CO2-capture, transport and storage, which could be the focus of a project application under the next call of the EU Innovation Fund (Q3 2020). This will cover:

• detailed feasibility of carbon capture of CO2 emission points at the different production sites of several large emitters in the port of Antwerp (technical, financial, spatial, …)
• detailed feasibility of a local CO2-backbone in the port of Antwerp, based on the high-level pre-feasibility study by the Antwerp port authority and Fluxys (technical, financial,…): trajectory Scheldelaan, with connection to the Churchill Investment Zone where a plug & play site for circular chemicals and fuel production will be created
• detailed feasibility of long distance transport of CO2 via ships and/or via pipeline and the required infrastructure (CO2 liquefaction unit, CO2 intermediate storage and terminal,…)