The first CO2 export terminal in Germany could become a reality. The Bellona Foundation – the independent non-for-profit aiming to promote sustainable environmental solutions to climate change, has recommended to the German government building a CO2 transport and storage infrastructure for the CO2 industry.
An export terminal is now being planned in Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany that will be able to receive and ship out CO2 from the rest of the country.
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The infrastructure is planned by the German energy agency Dena and consortium partners as part of a proposed energy hub in Wilhelmshaven. The partners have developed a strategy to be published in two weeks that will present further details on the CO2 export terminal.
The German government has intentions to build two terminals for receiving liquefied natural gas. However, one of the recommendations of Bellona Deutschland that is opposing the development of fossil fuels infrastructure is for such structures to be built along with a non-negotiable condition of being combined with infrastructure for transport and storage of CO2.
“Generally, there are no significant hurdles to CO2 capture and transport. But some adjustment should be made as part of the CO2 management strategy to facilitate deployment”, adds Erika Bellmann, head of Bellona’s office in Germany.
The initiative is a clear signal to the government that it needs to provide a policy framework for the CO2 transport and storage industry in the country. According to Bellona, necessary policies to enable CO2 capture and transport also include financial support schemes.
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The first CO2 export terminal in Germany to be built by a partially state-owned joint collaboration may have an impact on the government’s decision to boost the CO2 transport industry. The initiative could also establish networks and ties with countries like Norway that also plan ambitious carbon capture projects.
