Timely construction of infrastructure leads to potential savings of 8.5 megatons of CO2 in Central and West Brabant region
The business community in the Central and West Brabant region is ready to make a significant contribution in coming years to a more sustainable Dutch economy. Six companies have prepared plans for CO2 capture and use, a heat grid, electrification of production processes, the potential landing of offshore wind power and production of green hydrogen. These company plans have a total investment value of €10 billion.
As a whole, these projects have an annual potential CO2 savings of 8.5 megatons. But to achieve this potential, there is more work that needs to be done. In partnership with government agencies and grid operators, the companies are working to construct the necessary infrastructure for electricity, hydrogen, CO2 and heat.
The projects will even result in negative CO2 emissions. This is due in part to the capture, reuse and storage of CO2 from bio-based raw materials. A certain amount of heat can also be supplied by the companies to the surrounding municipalities, equivalent to the consumption of 200,000 households. The plans also include 1400MW of extra production capacity for hydrogen and 1500MW in flexible upward and downward adjustment of electrical power. The circular approach to raw material usage is being developed further.
The projects developed by these six companies can together achieve no less than 18% of the Climate Agreement.
Declaration of intent
The collaborating companies in the Central and West Brabant Industry Table – Attero, Cosun, Ennatuurlijk, RWE, SABIC and Shell – and the Province of Noord-Brabant signed a declaration of intent on 12 May in Geertruidenberg. Their shared intention is to carry out sustainable projects that reduce CO2 emissions and accelerate the energy transition.
The first step towards identifying a potential CO2 reduction was taken by the companies last year as part of the Cluster Energy Strategies (CES). It has since become clear that an even greater CO2 reduction can be achieved. The companies are working together intensively to gain a commitment from grid operators and government agencies in order to clarity the infrastructure required for their ambitious plans. This means pipelines for transporting CO2 and hydrogen, an expansion of the heat grid and a strengthening of the electricity grid in the region. The explicit intention is for smaller companies to become more sustainable and benefit from the investments and efforts of the collaborating industrial partners.
“The province welcomes collaboration in the industrial sector in Central and West Brabant in addressing the climate crisis,” says Commissioner for Energy Anne-Marie Spierings.
Getting started
The Industry Table is a regional initiative for and by companies in Central and West Brabant. In recent years, the region has achieved a 35% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to 1990 through energy savings and smart connections between company processes. This has resulted in a savings of 2.9 megatons of CO2. Achieving even greater sustainability requires the construction of new infrastructure.
To achieve this, the companies in the Industry Table are making every effort to work together with government agencies and grid operators. The Industry Table shows that the potential for further savings and increased sustainability of production processes in the region is so great that an accelerated completion of the required infrastructure is necessary.
In coming weeks, the parties involved in these efforts will be engaging in dialogue with the government, grid operators and municipalities in the region to get started on the plans and achieve the envisioned CO2 savings and energy transition.