Walloon Columbus carbon capture and utilization project put to a stop

Engie and lime producer Carmeuse are terminating the Columbus project, an industrial carbon capture and use (CCU) plant at Amercoeur near Charleroi, for “economic and regulatory reasons.”

The project had a total investment cost of more than 300 million euros.

187,000 tons of CO2

With the Columbus project, French energy company Engie and Carmeuse, in collaboration with technical partner John Cockerill, wanted to capture CO2 emissions from a new innovative type of lime kiln and combine it with green hydrogen.

That process was then to produce synthetic methane, a renewable gas that could be injected into the gas network in the transport or industrial sector. For that purpose, the site of Engie’s Amercoeur power plant at Roux (Charleroi) was also to have a 100-megawatt electrolysis plant to prevent the emission of up to 187,000 tons of CO2.

Walloon public money involved

However, after a thorough evaluation, the project partners have concluded that the project is not viable under current conditions. “The closing down of this project is in the context of a European market for hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives that is still in full development and whose development and structuring are slower than initially envisaged, in particular, due to a regulatory framework and a market for synthetic fuels that have not yet reached sufficient maturity,” reads a press release.

The project’s total investment cost would hover more than 300 million euros. Just last year, the previous Walloon government had released a budget of 88 million euros for two hydrogen projects of European interest, including the Columbus project.

Too ambitious

However, the decision does not change the two companies’ strategies, they stress. Engie says it remains convinced of the importance of carbon-free molecules in the future energy mix, while Carmeuse is currently developing several projects to capture and concentrate CO2 emissions in Wallonia.

Europe sees renewable hydrogen as a way to decarbonize particularly difficult-to-electrify sectors. For 2021-2027, total EU funding for hydrogen projects is currently estimated at 18.8 billion euros. However, a recent reality check shows that the EU targets are too ambitious. Implementing the rules for renewable hydrogen took time, and therefore, many investment decisions are being postponed.