€260 Million Belgian State Aid for Carbon Capture and Storage Project authorised
The European Commission has approved a €260 million Belgian State aid measure in favour of Air Liquide Large Industry NV and BASF Antwerpen NV for the carbon capture and storage (CCS) project Kairos@C.
The project will contribute to Belgium’s climate targets by decarbonising industry through an integrated cross-border CCS value chain. It will capture greenhouse gas (‘GHG’) emissions from existing plants producing hydrogen, ammonia, and ethylene oxide in Antwerp, with CO₂ transported for permanent underground storage in the North Sea. Over 15 years, the project is expected to avoid around 20 million tonnes of net GHG emissions, supporting the production of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia.
Kairos@C was selected in the first large-scale Innovation Fund call of 2020 and awarded a grant of over €365 million. Due to cost increases caused by exceptional inflation and other factors, the project required additional State aid to proceed. This State aid has been considered compatible on the basis of the Guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy (CEEAG)
For more information, see the Commission´s PR.