Joost Hooghiem recently became Business Unit Director CCS at Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) and, in that capacity, a member of the Porthos Steering Committee, alongside representatives of the other two shareholders, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Gasunie. With nearly twenty years of experience at Gasunie \u2014 including in business development and projects related to hydrogen transport \u2014 he brings a wealth of knowledge and a sense of urgency to the table. \u201cI wasn\u2019t naturally green, but I am now really concerned about the pace of the transition. We need to accelerate.\u201d<\/p>\n
What drives Hooghiem is working together on major social challenges. CCS is a good example of this. \u2018This challenge is becoming increasingly urgent as other developments in the energy transition are taking longer. CCS ensures that less CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere, which is essential to combat further global warming now.\u2019<\/p>\n
What role do you see for public parties such as EBN in building the CCS market?<\/strong> What do you see as the biggest opportunities and threats for CCS?<\/strong> What role does knowledge play in building that market?<\/strong> Let’s say we talk again in five years. What do you want to have achieved by then?<\/strong> This growth also demands something from EBN and our teams. I am proud to be able to make an important contribution together with my colleagues. So in a few years’ time, I hope we will be able to say: we have really scaled up CCS. That there is sufficient storage capacity for the CO\u2082 that we cannot yet avoid. And that EBN is seen as a reliable partner \u2014 not only because of our knowledge, but also because of our ability to get things done. Personally, I hope that my impatience has contributed to this progress. Because I am impatient by nature, yes. But with a purpose: the climate will not wait.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Joost Hooghiem recently became Business Unit Director CCS at Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) and, in that capacity, a member of the Porthos Steering Committee, alongside representatives of the other two shareholders, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Gasunie. With nearly twenty years of experience at Gasunie \u2014 including in business development and projects related to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u2018As a policy-driven company, EBN is in a unique position. We are not a commercial competitor, but a public partner with a mission. That gives us scope to invest in knowledge, infrastructure and collaboration. CCS is not an existing market that you can expand \u2014 it is a new value chain that we must build together. In that context, I see EBN as a party that connects, accelerates and inspires confidence.\u2019<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe biggest opportunity is that we can deploy CCS relatively quickly as an interim solution to reduce CO\u2082 emissions where there is no other option. But we can only seize that opportunity if we pick up the pace. Uncertainty, whether in politics or in timelines, causes unrest, which often prevents market parties from taking the step forward and makes them wait and see. It is therefore important to move forward quickly so that parties know when the infrastructure will be ready and can tailor their decisions accordingly. Uncertainty does not help a new market \u2014 nor does it help the Netherlands or the climate. CCS is a safe and cost-effective solution for reducing emissions into the atmosphere, especially when transported via pipelines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nKnowledge is crucial. Not only technical knowledge, but also knowledge of regulations, financing and cooperation. EBN has a very strong position in this regard. We also do a lot of knowledge development and knowledge exchange, both nationally and internationally. As a public body, organisations such as EBN have the opportunity to be one of the key players in this field: we connect all the components and players within the CCS market. But knowledge alone is not enough. We also need to demonstrate our ability to deliver. That means investing, getting projects off the ground, removing barriers and bringing parties together.”<\/p>\n
\nEBN is at a good point right now in terms of CCS: there is a \u201cgrowth spurt\u201d going on, especially with the announcement from the Ministry of Climate and Green Growth (KGG) last spring, in which Gasunie and EBN were given the leading role within Aramis. Porthos will start injecting next year and demonstrate that it is possible, both technically and commercially. With Aramis, we are demonstrating the possibilities of upscaling, and we are also developing a dozen offshore storage projects in collaboration with other operators.<\/p>\n