The ‘golden weld’ was completed on 23 September 2026, connecting Air Liquide’s facility in Rozenburg to the Porthos CO₂ pipeline in the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The connection brings together key elements of the CCS chain, including CO₂ capture, transport and permanent storage, marking another important milestone in the development of Porthos.

Air Liquide is one of Porthos’ four initial customers, alongside Shell, Air Products and ExxonMobil. The company is constructing a CO₂ capture facility at its Rozenburg hydrogen production site, where its proprietary Cryocap™ technology will capture CO₂ generated during hydrogen production.

Martijn Lub, Project Manager at Air Liquide, said: “We welcome this ‘golden weld’ as a true illustration of joint progress. Large-scale decarbonization in the Port of Rotterdam requires strong, collective effort, and this connection to the Porthos CO₂ pipeline shows what we can achieve when we collaborate together.”

Porthos is not expected to commence operations before the second half of 2027. Once operational, Air Liquide will supply captured CO₂ to the Porthos pipeline. The CO₂ will be transported to a compressor station on the Maasvlakte, where it will be pressurised before being sent through an offshore pipeline to the P18-A platform in the North Sea.

From there, the CO₂ will be injected into depleted gas fields approximately three to four kilometres beneath the seabed for permanent storage. The Porthos system is designed to store around 2.5 million tonnes of CO₂ annually across its four initial customers.

Porthos is a key part of efforts to decarbonise the Port of Rotterdam, which accounts for around 15% of the Netherlands’ CO₂ emissions.

Photo courtesy of Air Liquide