Bellona Europa, part of Oslo-based nonprofit Bellona Foundation, has announced the launch of its Ports2Decarb project, intensifying collaboration with ports to leverage their potential as hubs for industrial decarbonization in Europe, with a particular focus on carbon capture, transport, and storage (CCS) solutions.
Selected ports in the Baltic and North Sea regions are envisioned as pivotal hubs for deploying CCS technologies, primarily aimed at harder-to-abate industrial sectors like chemicals, steel, and cement.
CCS can prove to be an effective pathway for industries that face substantial challenges in slashing their emissions in pursuit of the EU’s ambitious net-zero target, Bellona said in a statement Thursday.
The CCS process encompasses several technically intricate phases, including on-site capture, transportation, and secure storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in geological formations, typically offshore.
The Baltic and North Sea ports are poised to play a pivotal role in facilitating maritime carbon transport infrastructure, connecting industrial sites to offshore storage locations, thereby preventing emissions from entering the atmosphere.
Janis Volberts, Climate Technology and Policy Manager for the Baltic Region at Bellona Europa, said that the organization would seek to establish a cross-border, accessible CO2 transport and storage network that would reduce the barriers to entry in the CCS market for industrial facilities.
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The Ports2Decarb project has received funding from the Charities Aid Foundation, with support from global transportation provider FedEx (NYSE: FDX)
According to Wouter Roels, SVP Marketing Operations and Customer Experience at FedEx Express Europe, collaborations with nonprofits like Bellona Europa enable the advancement of solutions necessary to achieve decarbonization goals.
In the first year of the project, Bellona Europa plans to engage stakeholders and build a narrative for the pivotal role of ports in decarbonization, followed by joint actions with ports and authorities at regional and national levels, and advocacy efforts for EU-level policy changes and funding support during the second year.
In the third year, Bellona will seek to facilitate access to national and EU funding mechanisms, such as the Innovation Fund and the Connecting Europe Facility.
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