A 260 M€ Belgian State aid approved by the Commission for a carbon capture and storage project in Antwerp

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €260M Belgian measure in favour of Air Liquide Large Industry and BASF for a joint carbon capture and storage ('CCS') project, named Kairos@C, on 11/03/2026.

This project will allow the beneficiaries to produce low-carbon hydrogen and low-carbon ammonia. It is a laureate of the first large-scale Innovation Fund call of 2020 and was awarded a grant of over €365M. However, due to, among others, exceptional inflation over the past years, the project costs have significantly increased and as a result it could not start without additional aid. The measure will be financed through the budget of the Flemish region.

The project aims at capturing greenhouse gas ('GHG') emissions from the companies' existing plants, located in Antwerp, that produce hydrogen, ammonia and ethylene oxide. The CO2 captured will be transported to a permanent underground storage site in the North Sea. The project aims to create an integrated, cross-border CCS value chain at industrial scale, which will result in around 20 million tonnes of net GHG emissions avoided, over 15 years.

The aid will take the form of a direct investment grant of €30M per beneficiary, which will be complemented by an additional grant that will be paid out in ten annual instalments of €10 M per beneficiary, provided that minimum GHG emission reductions are achieved.