The European Commission has approved a €260 million ($281 million) Belgian state aid measure to support the Kairos@C carbon capture and storage (CCS) project being developed by Air Liquide and BASF Antwerpen.
The project aims to capture greenhouse gas emissions from industrial plants in Antwerp that produce hydrogen, ammonia and ethylene oxide. The captured CO₂ will be transported and permanently stored in underground sites in the North Sea.
According to the Commission, the project is expected to avoid around 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over 15 years and help produce lower-carbon hydrogen and ammonia.
The aid will be funded by the Flemish regional government and will include direct investment grants of €30 million ($32.4 million) for each company. This will be complemented by additional grants paid in ten annual instalments of €10 million ($10.8 million) per beneficiary, conditional on achieving minimum emission reductions.
The Kairos@C project previously received more than €365 million ($394 million) from the EU’s Innovation Fund under its first large-scale call in 2020. However, rising costs linked to inflation meant additional support was required for the project to proceed.
The Commission said the measure supports the development of carbon capture and storage infrastructure and industrial decarbonisation while limiting potential distortions to competition under EU state aid rules.
