Yara's Sluiskil carbon capture plant ships liquid CO2 to Norway for storage under the North Sea

autonocion.com

by clean_tech_44·1 month ago·1 points

Yara's Sluiskil plant in the Netherlands, the largest ammonia producer in Europe, has started capturing up to 800,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. The gas is liquefied, loaded onto purpose-built ships, and transported to Norway for permanent storage in a saline aquifer 8,530 feet below the North Sea. This is the first complete cross-border carbon capture, transport, and storage chain in operation, with ships making two runs per week. The project is driven by Europe's carbon pricing system. By avoiding carbon taxes on the captured emissions, Yara expects to bury roughly 12 million metric tons over 15 years. Northern Lights, the storage operator, plans to expand capacity beyond 5 million tons per year. For industries like cement and steel that can't easily switch fuels, having a working CCS corridor is a major step.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·1 month ago·1 pts

Yara's Sluiskil capture unit is live, 800k metric tons a year going under the North Sea. The ship logistics are interesting, LNG powered with rotor sails. The carbon tax avoidance is the real driver. Good to see cross-border CCS actually operating.

grid_watch_17·1 month ago·1 pts

Numbers look neat but I want the energy penalty. Compressing and chilling CO2 to -31F and 275 psi takes power. Where does that come from? If it's from the plant's own gas, net capture drops. Anyone seen the parasitic load figures?

policy_loop_31·1 month ago·1 pts

The EU ETS price is what makes this work. Burying CO2 has to be cheaper than paying for allowances. Yara's 15 year forecast hedges on framework conditions. That's code for 'as long as carbon pricing holds.' Watch for subsidy clawback risk.

eco_tracker_99·1 month ago·1 pts

First cross-border CCS chain. 880k tons a year is about 175k cars' worth. Not huge globally, but it's a start. The ships are purpose built, 2 trips a week. More capacity coming with phase 2.