Flanders will send its CO2 to Norway

Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon (N-VA) is looking into closer cooperation with Norway in the field of energy transition. More specifically, Norway would be willing to take care of the storage of CO2 released during the production of hydrogen in Flanders. 

Jambon is currently on a diplomatic mission in Oslo where he discussed the energy crisis and Europe's dependence on Russian gas with Terje Aasland, Norway's Minister of Oil and Energy. Norway, as the second largest supplier of natural gas to Europe, can play an important role in the gas supply but according to Jambon this will not be sufficient. He stated that ‘there is only one solution to reduce dependence on Russia in the long run and to address the sustainability issue, and that is hydrogen.’ 

In October the federal government announced their hydrogen strategy which aims to make the energy transition possible with first blue hydrogen and later green hydrogen. The first makes use of fossil fuels and the later uses renewable energy for the production of the gas. Energy giants Engie and Equinor are planning a blue hydrogen project in Ghent, where natural gas from Norway will be converted into hydrogen and the released CO2 will be captured.

Initially, the cooperation will focus mainly on the storage of CO2. In this context, the Norwegian and French energy giants Equinor and Engie joined forces with Fluxys for the so-called H2BE project. The project, which focuses on blue hydrogen, involves sending natural gas from Norway to Zeebrugge, from where it is further distributed to Ghent. There hydrogen is created which will be used to power Flemish industry. The CO2 released during the production of the hydrogen will be captured and sent via a pipeline back to Norway, where it will be stored below sea level. 

According to the energy giants, this will make it possible to store some 2 to 5 million tons of CO2 annually, which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. The project should also lead to about 300 permanent jobs in Flanders and, according to Jambon, should also ensure the employment of current employees in the industrial sector. Engie and Equinor are committed to getting the project up and running by 2027-2028. 

In the longer term, towards 2040 and 2050, only green hydrogen shall be produced. But according to Jambon, a number of costly years are gained through this route. "There is a lot of discussion about whether to wait for green hydrogen because blue hydrogen still uses fossil fuels. But we are in this way five to ten years earlier in a major CO2 reduction. Of course, if we can eventually use renewable energy to generate hydrogen, we'll be right where we need to be," the prime minister concluded.