Antwerp@C CO2 Export Hub Gets Investment For Carbon Dioxide From the EU Commission

Belgium- The EU commission has decided to finance the Carbon Dioxide export hub made with the collaboration of Air Liquide, Fluxys Belgium, and the Antwerp port of Belgium. On Monday, an investment of USD 152 million was granted to the hub in order to extract most of the carbon produced in the industries and near the ports in the country. Currently, the production of Carbon Dioxide in the European region relies on the availability and the prices of natural gas with the manufacturers.

According to the official statement by Air Liquide, the funding was necessary to reduce European countries' dependency on natural gas for Carbon Dioxide production and elaborate the Carbon Dioxide application among Food & Beverage sectors. The mission is to facilitate CO₂ liquefaction and marine loading facilities for cross-border shipping. Air Liquide and Fluxys will build a shared liquefaction and export terminal as a joint venture. This will be the first phase of the Carbon Dioxide hub, an initiative launched by major energy players to reduce CO₂ emissions in the Antwerp port area by 2030. The investment will run under Europe's Connecting Europe Facility for Energy (CEF-E) policy program. The prices of Carbon Dioxide in the European regional market have declined slightly despite the shortage occurring in the market. Despite the improvised supply chain of Carbon Dioxide, the suppliers did not face much inquiry from the food and beverages sector and had ample stockpiles to cater to the demand.

Through their combined Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) initiative, the partners attempt to establish the first and largest cross-border CCS value chain in Antwerp, Air Liquide, and partner BASF will be the export hub's first clients. As per ChemAnalyst, the market prices of Carbon Dioxide are expected to showcase a slight incline in the first quarter of 2023 as the demand for CO₂ may also increase in the European market.