[ Sustainability ]
[ Sustainability ]
This Port of Rotterdam video provides insight into the complexity of building the offshore phase of the Porthos CCS project at Europe’ s busiest port.
Stainless in CCS
Stainless steel / duplex is an essential material for CCS plants where the combination of water, O 2, amine solvents and degradation products creates a highly corrosive environment. Examples of where stainless / duplex / super duplex is used:
• Absorber & stripper columns( internals + cladding)
• Heat exchangers
• Rich / lean amine piping
• Reboilers and condensers
• Compressors, intercooler, dehydration units
• High-pressure piping
• Valves, seals instrumentation etc.
H 2 plant # 4? The Port of Rotterdam Authority has the ambition to fill a fourth plot with another, as-yet unannounced project on the site. This will eventually create a cloverleaf of four electrolysers on the Maasvlakte.
CARBON CAPTURE Porthos CO 2 CCS The Porthos CCS project will soon transport CO 2 from industry in the Port of Rotterdam for storage in depleted gas fields under the North Sea. The objective is to decarbonise the port area without de-industrialising it. The CO 2 transported and stored by Porthos will be captured from several companies, then supplied via a collecting pipeline of over 30 kilometres through the Rotterdam port area. The CO 2 will then be pressurised at a compressor station, which is needed to transport the CO 2 as a gas. The CO 2 goes by subsea pipeline to a platform in the North Sea, about 20 kilometres offshore. The platform is being converted for reuse by Porthos. These gas fields are located in a sealed reservoir of porous sandy rock, three to four kilometres under the North Sea. Porthos will store about 37 Mtonnes of CO 2, equating to around 2.5 Mtonnes of CO 2 per year for 15 years. When the project becomes operational, the transport of CO 2 will take place in three phases, starting with a free-flow phase enabled by the low initial pressure of the depleted reservoir. The next phase is gas-phase injection using compressors
up to 75 bar. Finally, the system switches to dense-phase injection with colder CO 2 and pressures rising to 135 bar. The collecting pipeline through the port area, and the offshore pipeline, are already complete. Currently, the offshore stage of the project, converting a former gas platform into a CO 2 installation plant, is underway. Porthos should be operational in late 2026.
HyCO 4 Hydrogen plant conversion The original HyCO 4 hydrogen plant in the Port of Rotterdam is a cornerstone of Europe’ s transition toward a low-carbon economy. Operated by Air Products, this facility currently functions as a largescale Steam Methane Reformer( SMR). It produces approximately 300 tonnes of grey hydrogen daily, primarily serving
Porthos CCS project will soon transport CO 2 from the Port of Rotterdam to depleted North Sea gas fields. Photo © Porthos.
34 Stainless Steel World May 2026 www. stainless-steel-world. net