Tata Steel has joined forces with Dutch companies Gasunie, EBN and Port of Amsterdam to complete a feasibility report into an innovate project which could reduce the steelmakers’ CO2 emissions.
Tata Steel announced last year it aims to be a carbon neutral steelmaker in Europe by 2050. Capturing CO2 from the company’s steelmaking operations and either reusing it or storing it in empty gas fields under the North Sea could play an important role in helping to achieve that ambition.
The new report confirmed there are sufficient opportunities for capturing, storing and reusing CO2 (CCUS – Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) in the North Sea Canal area, which is home to Tata Steel’s integrated steelmaking site in IJmuiden, the Netherlands. It showed a CCUS network is technically feasible and has the potential to reduce emissions of CO2 by 7.5 million tonnes a year by 2030. The current feasibility study will be followed by more detailed research,
Known as the Athos Project it is just one of the ways Tata Steel is exploring to reach its ambitions around decarbonisation.
There are more than enough empty gas fields under the North Sea to store the captured CO2. The study showed there are no technical barriers to the project and that no new technologies need to be developed. The CCUS technology is already being used worldwide.
There are various initiatives and plans for reusing CO2 in the North Sea Canal area including the reuse of CO2 in greenhouse horticulture or conversion for reuse in the form of synthetic fuels.
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