Earth is calling... Twence

Starting in the spring of 2021, Twence wants to extract 100.000 tons of CO2 per year. To this end, an installation will be through which the flue gases pass. With a chemical process, the CO2 is filtered and stored. The remaining flue gases, mainly consisting of water vapour, are still released into the air. The extracted and liquefied CO2 is transported to customers using tankers.

The demand for CO2 for various useful applications is growing. CO2 can already be directly used as a 'fertilizer' in greenhouse horticulture. This method provides great opportunities to switch to clean energy sources for this sector. At present farmers use CO2 that is released when natural gas is burned in their greenhouse heating boilers. If CO2 can be purchased from external sources, farmers can also switch to sustainable heating sources such as geothermal energy. Other application areas for CO2 include the use of liquid CO2 as a coolant for transporting perishable goods or the use of CO2 when packaging vegetables.

The demand for CO2 for various useful applications is growing. CO2 can already be directly used as a 'fertilizer' in greenhouse horticulture. This method provides great opportunities to switch to clean energy sources for this sector. At present farmers use CO2 that is released when natural gas is burned in their greenhouse heating boilers. If CO2 can be purchased from external sources, farmers can also switch to sustainable heating sources such as geothermal energy. Other application areas for CO2 include the use of liquid CO2 as a coolant for transporting perishable goods or the use of CO2 when packaging vegetables.

An example of a long-term application is to use carbons from the extracted CO2 as a raw material in the chemical industry. Just like many other industries this industry is looking for sustainable alternatives to oil and natural gas. There is a need for efficient storage of renewable energy (solar and wind energy). CO2 offers possibilities in combination with hydrogen.

The Dutch Commission for Environmental Assessment (in Dutch: milieueffectrapportage / MER) has identified the potential risks to the environment of the planned CO2 installation on the Twence site. They approved the plans in December 2018. The MER assessment is necessary because a new installation is built that extracts CO2 from flue gases and liquefies it for transport.