Press Release: State aid: European Commission approves €150 million aid for carbon capture and storage project in The Netherlands

The European Commission has authorised The Netherlands under EU state aid rules to provide a €150 million grant for a CO2 capture and storage (CCS) demonstration project to a joint venture between E.ON and GDF Suez. The joint venture will construct a CO2 capture plant in the Rotterdam port area with the aim to capture part of the CO2 emitted by E.ON's coal-fired power plant and transport it to a depleted gas field in the North Sea for storage. The Commission concluded that the aid is in line with EU state aid rules, because on balance, the positive effects of the measure outweigh the potential distortions of competition. The project is also allocated EU support from the European Energy Programme for Recovery.