Yara opens Europe's largest carbon capture facility for fertiliser

Europe’s largest industrial carbon capture facility has opened at Yara’s Sluiskil fertiliser plant in the Netherlands, in a project expected to cut emissions from ammonia production and support lower-carbon fertiliser for agriculture.

The facility can capture and liquefy up to 800,000 tonnes of CO2 a year and could store around 12 million tonnes over the next 15 years, provided the right framework conditions remain in place.

Yara Sluiskil is Europe’s largest ammonia and fertiliser plant, giving the project direct relevance to agricultural input supply chains.

Ammonia is a key building block in nitrogen fertiliser production, meaning reductions in emissions at this stage could help lower the carbon footprint of fertiliser used by farmers.

For UK farmers, the project is relevant as fertiliser manufacturers look to reduce the carbon footprint of inputs supplied across European agriculture.

The project was officially inaugurated on 7 September and creates what Yara says is the first complete cross-border value chain for capturing, transporting and permanently storing CO2.

Captured carbon will be liquefied and temporarily stored at Sluiskil before being transported by ship to Norway.

Northern Lights will then store the CO2 around 2,600 metres beneath the seabed.

Yara president and chief executive Svein Tore Holsether said the project showed that large-scale industrial decarbonisation could be delivered while maintaining production in Europe.

“The carbon capture facility in Sluiskil proves that large-scale industrial decarbonization is possible today,” he said.

“As global competition intensifies, Europe must find ways to cut emissions while keeping industry, jobs and critical value chains in Europe.”

Yara said the scheme will also allow it to avoid carbon taxation on the volumes captured at Sluiskil.

The company sees carbon capture and storage as particularly important for energy-intensive sectors such as fertiliser and ammonia production, where emissions can be difficult to eliminate through other means.

For agriculture, Yara says the technology could support lower-carbon fertiliser products designed to reduce emissions across food production supply chains.

It is also expected to support lower-carbon ammonia for industrial and energy applications, alongside lower-carbon fuels for the maritime sector.

European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra said the project demonstrated how emissions reduction and industrial competitiveness could be pursued together.

“Europe needs practical climate solutions that deliver real emissions reductions while strengthening industrial competitiveness,” he said.

Northern Lights will handle the transport and permanent storage element of the project.

Managing director Tim Heijn said the scheme showed that cross-border carbon transport and storage could work at industrial scale.

“Together, we are demonstrating that capture and cross-border CO2 transport and storage is a viable solution for European industry,” he said.

The project also demonstrates how shared carbon storage infrastructure could be used by industrial operators across different countries.

For farmers, the key question will be whether projects of this scale can help reduce the embedded emissions associated with fertiliser production while maintaining reliable supplies of crop nutrients.

Yara said carbon capture forms part of its wider effort to reduce the footprint of its crop nutrition and ammonia businesses.