A new liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) export terminal is set to be developed at Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany, as part of a wider push to cut industrial emissions and tackle climate change.
The project, led by green energy company Tree Energy Solutions (TES), will allow captured CO2 from industries across Europe to be transported to storage sites under the North and Baltic Seas or to countries with abundant renewable energy for further use in green energy production.
Hugo Dijkgraaf, Chief Operating Officer at TES, said, “The CO2 export terminal will be a key asset for Germany’s industrial decarbonisation, connecting CO2 emitters and hard-to-abate industry clusters across Germany and Europe, initially through existing rail networks.”
He added that the facility could take carbon dioxide from several countries, including Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic, for storage or export via flexible shipping options.
A step towards lower emissions
The terminal is part of TES’s Green Energy Hub, which aims to become a major player in the production of electric natural gas (e-NG), made using green hydrogen. The company hopes to use the facility to support industries struggling to reduce their carbon emissions, particularly in sectors where cutting emissions is especially difficult.
To bolster its plans, TES has joined the Carbon Management Alliance, a German initiative working on technologies to capture, store, and reuse CO2. The partnership is intended to help create infrastructure to handle emissions more effectively and foster collaboration between industries.
Green energy for the future
TES says the project will make use of existing rail networks and pipelines to move CO₂ to Wilhelmshaven, reducing the need for new infrastructure. In future, the hub will expand to include a green power facility and advanced equipment to support the transition to cleaner energy.
Europe is advancing several CO2 export terminals to support industrial decarbonisation:
- United Kingdom: The government has approved its first commercially viable carbon storage facility, led by BP, to store up to four million tonnes of CO2 annually for 25 years beneath the North Sea, with operations expected to begin by 2027.
- Denmark: The Greensand project, involving INEOS and partners, plans to store up to 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year from biomethane plants in a depleted oilfield, with operations slated for late 2025 or early 2026.
- Norway: The Northern Lights initiative, a collaboration between Shell, Equinor, and TotalEnergies, has completed a CO2 storage facility on the west coast, ready to receive CO2 starting next year. The first phase aims to inject 37.5 million metric tonnes of CO2 over 25 years, with a second phase targeting an additional 3.5 million tonnes annually.
- France: The D’Artagnan project in Dunkirk has been allocated up to €189m ($198m) to develop a CO2 export hub, facilitating the transport of captured CO2 to storage sites abroad.
- Netherlands: The Port of Rotterdam is developing CO2 infrastructure, including an import terminal and a 200 km undersea trunkline, supported by €157m ($165m) in EU funding, to connect to future offshore storage sites.
