The European Commission has approved €260 million in Belgian state aid for a carbon capture and storage project run by Air Liquide and BASF at industrial sites in Antwerp.
The project, called Kairos@C, will capture carbon dioxide emissions from existing plants that produce hydrogen, ammonia and ethylene oxide, the Commission announced on Wednesday.
The captured CO₂ will be transported to a permanent underground storage site in the North Sea.
The Commission said the project is expected to avoid around 20 million tonnes of net greenhouse gas emissions over 15 years.
Air Liquide and BASF are expected to use the project to produce low-carbon hydrogen and low-carbon ammonia.
Funding details and why additional aid was approved
Kairos@C previously secured more than €365 million from the EU’s Innovation Fund — an EU programme that supports the demonstration of low-carbon technologies — after being selected in the fund’s first large-scale call in 2020.
Project costs have risen significantly due to factors including exceptional inflation in recent years, and the project could not start without additional aid.
The Belgian support will be financed through the budget of the Flemish region and will take the form of investment grants, with €30 million paid to each beneficiary and a further €10 million per year for each company for 10 years, provided minimum greenhouse gas emission reductions are achieved.
