Bonatti will build the compressor station.

Construction of the CO2 transport and storage system will begin in Rotterdam in 2024. The Porthos infrastructure will be built with an investment of €1.3 billion euros and will be operational by 2026.

Porthos is a joint venture between EBN, Gasunie and the Port of Rotterdam Authority. The aim of the new facilities is to transport and storage CO2 produced by several companies of the port of Rotterdam, including Air Liquide, Air Products, ExxonMobil, and Shell.

The system will transport captured CO2 up to depleted gas fields in the North Sea, approximately 20 km off the coast, where it will be permanently stored at a depth of 3 to 4 km below the seabed. Porthos will store about 2.5 Mton per year for 15 years, for a total of around 37 Mton.

As part of the overall Porthos project, Bonatti will be in charge of building the CO2 compressor station on an EPC basis (engineering, procurement and construction) and will also be responsible for the pre-commissioning activities, in preparation for start-up.

Consisting of 3 compressors and all complementary civil, mechanical and electro-instrumental works, the plant will transport CO2 through underwater pipelines to the offshore injection platform.  The Compressor Station is designed to be unmanned and remotely controlled, with maximum automation of processes. The facility will measure and compress the CO2 at suitable temperature for delivery to the pipelines.

The project has a high strategic value for the country, as underlined by Hans Meeuwsen, director of Porthos: “CO2 storage is crucial if we want to achieve the climate goals in the Netherlands. This investment decision is an important starting point for future developments in CO2 storage in the Netherlands.”

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a cost-effective way to keep large amounts of CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere: the project is an important pillar of the Dutch government’s climate policy. Thanks to Porthos, the Rotterdam port industry will soon emit about 10% less CO2.

Bonatti is committed to energy transition and for years has been combining its established activities in the oil & gas sector with projects related to emission reduction or net zero. Participation in the construction of Porthos, an infrastructure of absolute relevance at a continental level, represents for the company a fundamental step in this direction.

The project award also underscores Bonatti's depth of expertise in the engineering and construction of compression systems. In fact, in recent years the company has designed, installed, started-up and maintained dozens of compressors with benchmark performances of international level.

Andrea Colombo, CEO of Bonatti, stated: “We are proud to be part of Porthos, a highly strategic project recognized by the European Union for its importance in achieving climate goals. We are ready to deploy the expertise our engineering and construction people we have gained throughout the world in the area of compression systems. We are proud to have the opportunity to make our technical knowledge available to green sector projects, and excited to contribute to energy transition in the years to come".