19 February 2026

The Port of Rotterdam as a CCS hub: cohesion makes the difference

Anyone who sees Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as purely the capture, transport and storage of CO₂ is missing the point. The Port of Rotterdam is an integrated system in which infrastructure parties, industry and state-owned companies work together. It is precisely this cohesion that makes CCS affordable, reliable and scalable — essential for reducing CO₂ emissions in Europe’s largest industrial cluster.

The ambition of the port of Rotterdam is clear: it wants to be a climate-neutral port by 2050. By producing renewable energy, circular raw materials and sustainable materials, companies in the port contribute directly to international climate goals and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy.

To fulfil this role, the port is undergoing a fundamental transformation. The energy system is being supplemented with hydrogen and electrification, fossil raw materials are gradually being replaced by sustainable alternatives, and circular chains are being established. New infrastructure for residual heat, hydrogen and CO₂ connects companies and creates economies of scale. CCS acts as a necessary bridge in this process: as long as completely emission-free production is not yet possible everywhere, large-scale CO₂ storage makes direct CO₂ reduction feasible.

Rotterdam as a CO₂ hub
In the port of Rotterdam, multiple industrial CO₂ streams converge on a single, freely accessible, shared, newly constructed transport network. Refineries and hydrogen producers supply their captured CO₂ to a joint backbone. Via a collection pipeline and a central compressor station, the CO₂ is transported to depleted gas fields under the North Sea for safe, permanent storage.

Porthos has laid the foundation for this shared and freely accessible CO₂ infrastructure. Thanks to the collaboration between the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Gasunie and Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN), the transport and storage chain is robust, safe, efficient and cost-effective. The Port of Rotterdam Authority contributes knowledge of the industrial cluster and market dynamics, Gasunie has experience with large-scale energy infrastructure and EBN provides expertise on subsurface and offshore CO₂ storage.

The Porthos pipeline, which runs right through the port, has a capacity of 10 Mtonnes of CO2 per year. Porthos will initially transport and store 2.5 Mtonnes per year, after which other factories, such as producers of biofuels and chemical products, will also be able to use this pipeline. Thanks to this scalability, the shared CCS network makes a substantial contribution to climate targets. New projects are joining and building on this to develop an open, expandable network for transport by ship and storage in and to other depleted gas fields in the North Sea.

From project to network
Porthos, for example, has been deliberately designed as the foundation for a larger, scalable system. Aramis is developing this further with an open access system in which CO₂ can be supplied via pipelines, by train or by ship and transported to offshore storage fields. With a potential capacity of tens of millions of tonnes per year, this project marks the next phase in the development of Rotterdam as an international CO₂ hub.

Initiatives such as CO₂next, which is developing a liquid CO₂ terminal on the Maasvlakte, increase the flexibility of the network and enable participation for companies that are not directly connected to a pipeline. From 2032 onwards, connections with Germany and Belgium will further strengthen Rotterdam’s position as a hub for CO₂ transport, both nationally and across Europe. This will not result in a collection of separate projects, but in an open infrastructure network that grows in line with the needs of industry and society. While the initial focus is on rapidly preventing CO₂ emissions from processes for which no low-carbon alternatives are yet available, in the future, the storage of biogenic CO₂ and direct capture from the air could also contribute to a further reduction of CO₂ in the atmosphere. The current construction of the CO₂ infrastructure is also important for the use of CO₂ from biogenic sources as a building block for the chemical industry.

Why coherence is crucial
The strength of CCS in Rotterdam lies in its mutual cohesion. By sharing infrastructure and network standards, the costs per tonne of CO₂ are reduced and this network facilitates the further development of the Dutch CCS network. It is no coincidence that Porthos started in the port of Rotterdam. Many industries that want to reduce their CO₂ emissions are located close to each other here. This shared network of multiple industrial parties collectively creates a volume that enables storage projects at the lowest possible cost. At the same time, the network structure increases reliability: if one source temporarily delivers less or one reservoir temporarily has less storage capacity, the entire CCS system continues to function thanks to the network of connected producers and storage parties. The cluster approach also enables further growth, allowing a large proportion of industrial emissions in Europe to be tackled in one go. Because the network can be expanded modularly with new pipelines, companies and storage fields, an infrastructure is created that will remain relevant for decades. The difference is significant: this is not a temporary project, but a future-proof system for transporting CO₂ for storage or reuse.

From ambition to reality
The energy transition requires more than technological innovation; it requires organisational strength, cooperation and perseverance. In Rotterdam, CCS is not an isolated measure, but part of an integrated energy and raw materials system that also combines hydrogen, heat, circular raw materials and sustainable logistics.

Step by step, an open, scalable and future-proof CO₂ network is growing in the port of Rotterdam, which not only reduces emissions but also lays the foundation for a sustainable and competitive energy system for the Netherlands and Europe.