New JV starts building CO2 backbone in Antwerp port area

Fluxys c-grid Antwerp, a new joint venture (JV) of Fluxys, Pipelink, and Air Liquide, has set plans in motion to build and operate a CO2 pipeline network in the Antwerp port area.

As disclosed, the construction of the first phase of the CO2 pipeline network by Fluxys c-grid Antwerp has recently started and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

The initiative is supported by the European Commission’s financing program ‘Connecting Europe Facility for Energy’ (CEF-E) and VLAIO. Further expansion will follow market demand in the coming years, and it is open to connecting to the regional Flemish backbone and neighbouring countries, Fluxys said.

The joint venture intends to apply as the Local CO₂ Network Operator for the Antwerp port area by the end of May 2025.

The newly founded company aims to establish a pipeline network as an essential part of the value chain through which the captured CO2 from Antwerp’s industry can be transported to the Antwerp@C CO2 Export Hub or other exit points on adjacent networks.

Antwerp@C is an initiative gathering Air Liquide, BASF, Borealis, ExxonMobil, INEOS, TotalEnergies, Fluxys, and Port of Antwerp-Bruges with the ambition to halve the CO2 emissions in the Antwerp port area by 2030.

The project envisages two possibilities for cross-border CO2 transport infrastructure. In the first phase, the CO2 is shipped in liquid form to empty gas fields in the North Sea area. In a second phase, Antwerp@C will also explore the possibility of transporting CO2 by pipeline to the Netherlands.

Antwerp@C received a €144.6 million EU funding for the construction of shared CO2 transport and export facilities on the Antwerp port platform in 2022.