As the three-day gasworld European CO2 Summit 2025 gets underway in Rotterdam, we shine the spotlight on sustainability and carbon reduction efforts in the port, where major carbon capture and pipeline projects are underway.
The Port of Rotterdam’s recently released Annual Report 2024 underlines the importance of sustainability in present and future operations.
Last year it gave companies in the port area a 2.5% discount (3.5% for Net Zero operations) on land leases – on rent and ground lease – if they invest that amount annually in sustainability. And it is now going one step further.
“In 2025, we are going to set carbon reduction agreements in new contracts and amend existing contracts,” it states. “If a company does not achieve the agreed reductions, for example, we may reclaim previously granted rebates. This is a significant change in our issuance policy: CO2 reduction targets are becoming a hard requirement.”
In 2024, almost all companies located in the port took advantage of the discount. Most investments focus on electrification, the use of carbon capture (CCS), solar panels and making fleets more sustainable.
“Greening is a crucial pillar for the port’s future resilience,” the report notes. The port has set CO2 reduction goals of 55% from 1990 levels by 2030 and CO2 neutrality by 2050. Last year it achieved a 79% reduction in Scope 1 emissions, thanks to most of its vessels now running on the renewable fuel HVO100, produced from vegetable oils and animal fats, and 39% drop in indirect Scope 2 emissions.
Scope 3, covering the upstream and downstream value chain, is more challenging, encompassing contractor jobs (fuel), business travel, commuting and shipping, and far exceeds the first two scopes’ impact (see below).
Source: Port of Rotterdam
For investments in projects related to its own operations that result in its own Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions, it uses an internal price of €100 per tonne, although last year there were no projects to which it could apply the internal price.
Although the average European market price in 2024 was about €65 per tonne, the Port assigns “a higher monetary value” to its CO2 emissions, adding that for client and public infrastructure investments it includes CO2 volumes without a monetary translation in its consideration.
The port is investing heavily in joint projects such as Porthos (carbon capture and storage), hydrogen pipelines, residual heat and shore power.
With its Infra Innovation programme, is is improving maritime structures, aiming for lower costs and reduced emissions, and using sensors, data analytics and advanced computational tools to extend the life of infrastructure.
Despite these efforts, the energy transition is proceeding slower than desired. High connection costs, electricity prices and restrictive regulations are also contributing to the headwinds.
In focus: Porthos and Delta Rhine Corridor
Porthos, launched in 2020, began construction of the CO2 transport and storage project in 2024. In April, a work crew drilled the first hole under the Maasvlakte seawall.
Source: Porthos
Porthos transports captured CO2 via a compressor station in the port of Rotterdam to a platform 20km offshore. There, the CO2 is permanently stored in empty gas fields under the North Sea floor. Construction of the project, which aims to store about 37m tonnes, is progressing steadily. MAN Energy Solutions will supply three integrally-geared compressor trains.
“In the first construction phase, we are focusing on land-based activities, such as the construction of the onshore pipeline. Construction of the coolant pump building and compressor station has also begun,” it notes.
Cooperation with Aramis, a CCS initiative of Shell, Total, Gasunie and EBN, has entered a new phase. Aramis and its clients may start using Porthos infrastructure, including the capacity available in Porthos’ land pipeline. This is the beginning of CO2 infrastructure at the port that will enable future storage projects for carbon reduction, as well as projects using CO2 as a feedstock.
Mark Driessen from Porthos CO2 Transport and Storage will be sharing his insights in a session on CO2 storage and transportation at the CO2 Summit.
In December 2024, the Netherlands government announced that the Delta Rhine Corridor (DRC) will focus on hydrogen and CO2. The DRC is laying pipelines between Rotterdam, Chemelot and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The hydrogen pipeline is expected to be completed between 2031 and 2032, and the CO2 pipeline between 2032 and 2033.
The CO2 pipeline is important for Rotterdam and other industrial areas in the Netherlands, Germany and north-western Europe, and helps with carbon storage in empty gas fields under the North Sea. Plans for the pipeline bundle began in 2021 with a feasibility study for four new pipelines. Although the hydrogen carrier ammonia is now out of scope, planning continues.
At the conversion park on the Maasvlakte, Shell is building Europe’s largest hydrogen plant, which is expected to produce 60,000kg of renewable hydrogen daily.
Energy-intensive industries, including some of the chemical and refining industries, need hydrogen as a renewable substitute for natural gas. Therefore clients in north-western Europe expect high demand for hydrogen.
The gasworld team is ready to welcome delegates to the CO2 Summit
Exhibition and networking space in the Postillion Hotel & Convention Centre WTC Rotterdam
Decarbonisation and CCS take centre stage at Summit
The European CO2 Summit will hear from David Hurren at DAH Renewable Consultancy and Stefano Miriello at the Carbon Capture and Storage Association, in a dedicated session on decarbonisation and CO2 markets. Nick van den Boogart at CO2next will also outline its work on ‘A New CO2 terminal for Europe’ in a session devoted to CO2 storage and transportation. To see all of this week’s agenda and speakers, click here.
