Navigator CO2 Ventures LLC – the company that proposes to build one of the largest carbon capture and storage pipelines in Illinois, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with OCI NV’s wholly-owned Iowa fertilizer company facility for CO2 transportation and storage services. The facility is also Iowa’s largest fertilizer plant.
The initiative would be part of the extensive carbon capture and storage (CCS) project – the Heartland Greenway. The Heartland Greenway pipeline system is a Navigator CO2 Ventures proposed carbon capture and storage infrastructure project that will provide biofuel producers and other industrial customers across five Midwest states with a long-term CO2 storage solution.
The 1,300 long pipeline will run across five states: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota with operations expected to begin in 2025. Once fully operational and expanded, the carbon capture initiative would be able to sequester 15 million metric tons of CO2 annually.
Relevant: Navigator CO2 Gets Green Light For Heartland Greenway Pipeline
The carbon capture agreement signed between Navigator and OCI outlines the key terms for the CO2 transportation and storage services. It is long-term, for up to 1,130,000 metric tons of CO2 per year and will have two phases. The first phase will focus on process gas representing approximately 500,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.
The second phase will aim to make the installation of the required post-combustion capture equipment economically feasible which would also be subject to regulatory enhancements of the 45Q program.
“We are excited to partner with Navigator on this project which allows for an effective and quick solution to reduce our CO2 footprint and offer low carbon products to our customers across the value chain from our world-scale facility in Iowa. We are monitoring the on-going discussions in Congress around enhancements to the 45Q program to support the project economics and potentially open the opportunity to widen the scope of this project to capture more CO2,” said Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of OCI NV.
Heartland Greenway Faces Obstacles
More Heartland Greenway news is hitting headlines this week. Navigator CO2 Venture held a public meeting at Lyon County for the local landowners to voice out their concerns regarding the proposed CO2 pipeline. The meeting is one of many that would run through 36 counties in Iowa.
Many landowners are worried about how their land and its worth may be impacted by the construction of the pipeline and also about the safety from potential leaks of the hazardous liquid. During the meeting, Navigator presented on the process of compensating farmers, explained about safety, and touted its environmental benefits.
The company assured that all land would be restored to the same condition as before construction and that the system would be monitored at all times for temperature and pressure to prevent leaks.
Relevant: Residents Oppose CO2 Pipelines In Woodbury County
“There’s a lot of safeguards from the design process, the construction process and the ongoing operations…In the unlikely event of a release, we, as the pipeline operator, would be liable for that situation,” said Stephen Lee, Navigator’s senior vice president of engineering.
The Heartland Greenway project is part of an increasing number of carbon capture initiatives that would facilitate the industry’s decarbonization goals. Reducing emissions from hard-to-abate sectors is critical for curbing global warming.
