National
ROAD - The “Rotterdam Opslag en Afvang Demonstratieproject” (ROAD) was a large scale planned CCS demonstration project where CO2 would have been captured from a large coal-fired plant on the Maasvlakte near Rotterdam, and stored in a gas field 20 km offshore. In September 2017, the project developers UNIPER and ENGIE, withdrew from the ROAD CCS Project which led to its immediate cancellation. The reason for the cancellation is understood to be the lack of a sustainable business case for coal-fired power generation in combination with CCS. There are efforts underway to salvage some of the R&D and planning of the project to facilitate the development of a transport and storage infrastructure in and around the port of Rotterdam.
The project, which was originally planned to commence operation in 2015, would have received financial support from the Dutch government and the European Commission.
CATO - The Dutch national research programme on CCS, the CATO programme involves a consortium of research institutes, universities, industrial stakeholders and consultancies. This ‘research community’ was established in 2004, with the majority of the research completed in ‘CATO-2’ between 2009 and 2014. CATO-2 publications can be accessed here. CATO is managed by TNO.
TKIgas CCUS – The Dutch government has identified nine ‘Top sectors’, whereby government funds will be used to help stimulate public-private investment in innovation. Under the Top Sector Energy, the TKI or ‘Topconsortia voor kennis and innovatie’, Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage research continues to receive government funding from the Dutch government.
European CO2 storage research projects with Dutch participants
There are several international research programs in which Dutch participants are/were involved. Information about the projects can be found using the following links:
- ALIGN CCUS – Characterisation of potential CO2 storage sites in the North Sea
- CO2REMOVE – Monitoring and verification of CO2 storage
- IMPACTS – Research on the impact of the quality of CO2 from transport and storage
- CO2CARE – CO2 storage site closure and post-closure safety
- ECO2 – Sub-seabed CO2 Storage: Impact on Marine Ecosystems
- MiReCOL – Mitigation and remediation of CO2 storage
International funding opportunities
Horizon 2020 - is the largest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020). In the theme Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy, funding is available for carbon capture and storage research and demonstration projects. TThe 2018-2020 work programme for the theme can be found here.
H2020 ERA-NET CCS – The European Research Area Network (ERA-NET) – CCS, is a specific funding stream within the H2020 programme for supporting joint actions on demonstration and validation of innovative energy solutions. €13 million has been made available by the European Commission for research and development of CCS, which has been increased by Member State co-funding of €29 million.
‘ACT’, or Accelerating CCS Technologies, is the name of the project vehicle that will operationalize the funding made available from the ERA-NET CCS Co-fund. The involvement of the Netherlands in ACT is managed by The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), and a call for proposals. Approximately €4 million has been made available for Dutch participants. The first call for proposals was launched in 2016, and 8 projects have received funding. A second call for proposals is expected in mid-2018