The Just Transition Fund (JTF) has supported the establishment of a CO2 storage and shipment hub in the Port of Hirtshals with DKK109m (€14.6m).
The facility can be up and running in 2025/2026, with an initial capacity for handling 0.5 million tonnes per year for permanent storage in empty oil and gas fields in the Greensand area of the Danish part of the North Sea.
If provided with a pipeline for transporting CO2 to the Port of Hirtshals, the carbon capture, utilisation and storage project of Greenport Scandinavia would be able to take care of 3.0mt/year of CO2 in 2029, up to beyond 15mt/year in the early 2030s should the Danish and European infrastructure be integrated.
"We are naturally pleased that the Just Transition Fund prioritises supporting the ambitious project, which aims to make the Port of Hirtshals one of the most important focal points for the storage and shipment of CO2 in Europe. The support means that we can, among other things, start establishing the facilities needed. We see the support as evidence that we are working on a unique project that can contribute to solving the enormous climate challenges facing the world," Per Holm Nørgaard, the Port of Hirtshals' CEO, commented.
He furthered, "We are in the midst of planning a significant expansion of the Port of Hirtshals [currently tendering the DKK1.0b investment project], and in this context, the establishment of Northern Europe's largest CO2 hub fits perfectly into our strategy. Making Hirtshals a hub for the storage and shipment of CO2 is obvious because our location is ideal in relation to the storage fields in the North Sea and our other plans to contribute to the green transition."
Søren Smalbro, Mayor of the Hjørring Municipality and Vice-Chairman of the Port of Hirtshals' board, also underlined, "There is no doubt that the establishment of a CO2 hub at the port is of great importance - not only for Hirtshals but also for the Hjørring Municipality and the rest of Northern Jutland. The CO2 hub plays a central role in the economic development of the Hjørring Municipality and will undoubtedly create new jobs in our area in connection with the construction and operation of facilities at the port. In addition, the Port of Hirtshals will attract new companies working on the green transition in the coming years, creating even more jobs."
Greenport Scandinavia - whose partners apart from the Port of Hirtshals include INEOS Energy, Wintershall Dea, Evida, Biocarb Solution, Aalborg Portland, Greenport North, EUC Nord, Hydrogen Valley, and Energy Cluster Denmark - will now proceed with planning the physical facilities to be established at the Danish seaport.
Photo: Greenport Scandinavia