Air Liquide to build world-scale carbon capture unit

Air Liquide announced it will build, own and operate a world-scale carbon capture unit in the industrial basin of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Expected to be operational in 2026, the new unit will be installed at the Group’s hydrogen production plant and will be connected to Porthos, one of Europe’s largest carbon capture and storage infrastructure.

Air Liquide will build a world scale CO2 capture unit in the port of Rotterdam.

Leveraging Cryocap technology, a technological solution for CO2 capture using a cryogenic process, the new unit will capture CO2 from its existing world-scale hydrogen plant.

Captured CO2 will then be transported through the Porthos infrastructure, which is currently being developed, and permanently stored in depleted gas fields in the North Sea, about 20km off the coast.

The Porthos infrastructure overall will enable to store 2.5 million tons of carbon emissions per year, which is equivalent to around 10% of the current Rotterdam industry carbon emissions.

The European Union has recognized Porthos as a major cross-border infrastructure project that contributes to the achievement of energy and climate policy objectives, and has included Porthos to the list of Project of Common Interest.

“This new world-scale CO₂ capture unit illustrates our expertise and commitment to implementing decarbonization solutions, in line with the Group’s ADVANCE strategic plan to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 33% by 2035,” commented Emilie Mouren-Renouard, Executive Committee member of Air Liquide and CEO of the Europe Industries Hub.