CCS :
Realistic port director: The birds on the roof must be brought down by hand

- We would like to establish Northern Europe's largest CO₂ hub together in Greenport Scandinavia, where we are seven companies working to realize it, says Hirtshals' port director, Per Holm Nørgaard.

The seven companies in Greenport Scandinavia consist of Ineos, Wintershall Dea, Biocarb Solution and Aalborg Portland as well as Green Port North and the Port of Hirtshals. There is also a reason why it should be Hirtshals that ensures such a leading role.

- We have the geography and location needed to make it possible. We are working very hard to realize our goal, he explains and elaborates:

- We have received 109 million DKK from the national support pool EUDP (The Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program ed.), and now we are going to realize it with the 156 million DKK. DKK, which we ourselves will have to contribute, says the port director.

So it will be around a quarter of a billion DKK to launch something that could be very large. There is also respect for the size of the amount.

- It is not just small change that we throw into a machine here, and the parties have to collect it, he explains about the own payment of the 156 million DKK.

- There are many things to consider, which will naturally be the case when there is an investment of 250 million DKK. DKK, adds Per Holm Nørgaard.

The goals must be realized

When DOI.dk visited the Port of Hirtshals back in January 2022, Per Holm Nørgaard had a cautious approach, and nothing was announced until it was very certain. The approach is the same in 2024, and the port director also smiles when asked what the difference is between then and now with the projects, which in the port industry are often referred to as "birds on the roof".

- Where we are now, there are birds on the roof, and they need to be brought down. This will become something together with the good private companies, explains Per Holm Nørgaard and elaborates on the role of the port:

- We are the industrial platform that the companies must build on. And it is a transition from the traditional port infrastructure that someone has built before me. We have a fantastically solid port, and we will continue to have that in the future. But there must also be development.

Praise to the port

Reinhold Poulsen, who is head of producing assets for CCS at Ineos and chairman of the steering committee at Greenport Scandinavia, gave this reason for why the Port of Hirtshals was chosen, during last Thursday's visit by the Austrian Minister of Finance Magnus Brunner and the German parliamentarian Oliver Grundmann:

- There is a good mindset here at Green Port North and Hirtshals Port, which we liked, said the Ineos man.

The port director had not himself noticed the words of praise, but he now knows what it could be about.

- It's about seeing the possibilities rather than the limitations. Specifically, we have an open and transparent dialogue. That's how we get through the challenges together, explains Per Holm Nørgaard.

If CCS becomes the huge success that it is now in the cards, there is no doubt at the port about what the income will be used for.

- We must run a good port and continue to offer even better conditions for customers in the future. We must constantly provide great facilities for our customers, concludes Per Holm Nørgaard.