Partners exploring viability of France’s CO2 transport and liquefaction network, eyeing 2030 completion date

Following June’s call for expressions of interest (CEI) to develop a network of CO2 transport infrastructure in France, French liquefied natural gas (LNG) operator Elengy has launched feasibility studies for the project in partnership with compatriot Société du Pipeline Sud-Européen (SPSE), a player handling long-distance transport and storage of liquid hydrocarbons.

The Rhône CO2 project aims to develop an infrastructure network enabling CO2 captured at industrial sites to be transported to the CO2 liquefaction and export terminal on the existing Elengy-operated Fos Tonkin terminal at Fos-sur-Mer, for export of liquid CO2 to permanent geological storage areas as part of the emerging carbon capture and storage (CCS) chain, or to CO2 recovery sites, as part of the carbon capture and utilization (CCU) chain, along the Rhône Valley. 

According to developers, the project marks a decisive step towards the decarbonization of the industries of the Rhône Valley and the Fos/Berre/Lavera industrial port area, deemed one of France’s most industrialized regions. It also forms part of the French government’s CCS strategy (France 2030).

Nelly Nicoli, Chief Executive Officer of Elengy, said: “After the success of the CEI that Elengy organised for GOCO2 in Saint Nazaire, this new result for Rhône CO2 confirms the need of industrial companies to have access to infrastructures that can transport CO2 to geological storage areas for emissions that they cannot reduce in any other way. It also confirms that the model of developing infrastructures that are open to third-party access is both relevant and effective.”

The CEI launched by French partners as part of the Rhône CO2 project targeted all the players involved in setting up a carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) chain. While 15 eligible companies expressed their interest, six committed to developing the first phase of the project: Fibre Excellence, Heidelberg Materials, Lafarge, Vicat, Petroinéos as biogenic and fossil CO2 emitters, and H2V as developer of a synthetic fuel production project. 

Based on the project’s timeline, a final investment decision (FID) is scheduled for 2027, with the project expected to come on stream as early as 2030. A ramp-up to a cumulative capacity of more than 2.7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) is foreseen five years later, in 2035. 

Two separate pre-FEED studies are scheduled to take place in the second half of 2024, one for the conversion of SPSE’s pipelines and the connection of interested partners, and the other for the adaptation of Elengy’s terminal.

“I’m delighted to see the success of the ‘Rhône CO2’ CEI and the interest it has aroused among numerous partners. Their commitment bears witness to the importance of this ambitious project. I’m looking forward to working with all of them to set up this CCUS chain, which is essential for accelerating the decarbonisation of industry in the Rhône Valley and the Berre-Fos/Mer-Lavéra industrial port area,” noted Fabien Poure, SPSE’s Chief Executive Officer.

Elengy is working on another CO2 transport development in France – the Grand Ouest CO2 (GOCO2) project. Together with partner GRTgaz, the LNG terminal operator proposes to develop a network for transporting CO2 covering multiple territorial units in France and a CO2 liquefaction and export terminal at the Montoir-de-Bretagne LNG terminal. The pre-FEED work for the project started in July.