Fluxys, ArcelorMittal Belgium and North Sea Port have started a feasibility study for the Ghent Carbon Hub project, an open-access CO2 storage and liquefaction hub in the Ghent part of North Sea Port, according to Fluxys's release.
Besides the use of carbon-neutral energy, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is essential for CO2 intensive industries to achieve net zero emissions, especially in hard-to-abate sectors with processes inherently generating CO2 emissions.
Fluxys, ArcelorMittal Belgium, and North Sea Port are pressing ahead to develop a key infrastructure accommodating the CCUS chain.
Ghent Carbon Hub is set up as an open-access hub to transport and liquefy CO2 from emitters, provide buffer storage and load the liquefied CO2 onto ships for onward permanent storage. The feasibility study has now started and commissioning is targeted for 2027.
Ghent Carbon Hub will have a capacity to process 6 million tonnes of CO2 per annum (MTPA), equivalent to around 15% of Belgian industrial CO2 emissions.
The project will benefit from Fluxys’ wide experience in terminalling activities, while Fluxys is also developing an open-access CO2 transmission backbone in Belgium. Ghent Carbon Hub connects into Fluxys’ CO2 backbone, allowing CO2 emitters from the North Sea Port area and other industrial clusters to transport their captured CO2 to the hub or locations of reuse.