12 September 2025

Michiel Bekker joins Porthos management team

On 1 September, Michiel Bekker was appointed Director of Commissioning, Start-up & Transition at Porthos CO₂ Transport and Storage C.V. In this role, he will strengthen the management team and be responsible for the transition of the Porthos project from implementation to operation.

Bekker’s tasks will include ensuring the timely operational readiness of systems for CO₂ compression, transport and injection in former gas fields under the North Sea. He will also supervise compliance and safety standards and supervise the project during commissioning and the full operational phase.

‘It is an honour to work on this project. We are doing something that is technically and organisationally very complex,’ says Bekker. ‘The fact that we are achieving this with maximum safety is not only important for Porthos, but also for the industry and for the Netherlands.’

With more than twenty years of international experience, Bekker brings a broad industrial background at the intersection of engineering and policy development. Previously, he led a large-scale integrated project for CO₂ capture and storage (CCS) at Shell and was involved in leading projects at Gasunie.

With Bekker’s arrival, Porthos is underlining its focus on a safe and efficient transition to operation, a crucial phase for the further development of the CO₂ transport and storage project.

Construction of the Porthos system is in full swing and is expected to be operational in 2026.