Enagás, the Basque Government through the Basque Energy Agency (EVE), and the industrial companies Petronor, Heidelberg Materials, Calcinor and Terresis Centro de Magnesitas Navarras, with the collaboration of Nortegas, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the joint and coordinated development of the 'COnet2 North Hub', a comprehensive project in northern Spain that will design the complete value chain of CO₂ capture, transport, distribution, use and storage (CCUS).
The agreement, signed today at the Energy Intelligence Centre (EIC) in Bilbao, was attended by the Basque Government's Minister of Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, Mikel Jauregi; the Director General of the Basque Energy Agency (EVE), Mikel Amundarain; the CEO of Enagás, Arturo Gonzalo; the CEO of Petronor, José Ignacio Zudaire; the Chairman of Calcinor, Jon Santa Cruz; the Chairman of Heidelberg Materials, Jesús Ortiz; the General Manager of Terresis Centro de Magnesitas Navarras, Jorge Baños; and the CEO of Nortegas, Juan Villar.
The event was also attended by the Director General of Energy and Digital Transition, Business R&D and Entrepreneurship of the Government of Navarre, Garbiñe Basterra, and the Chairman of the Port Authority of Bilbao, Iván Jiménez, among other authorities.
Key project to decarbonise industry
The project will be key to helping decarbonize hard-to-reduce industrial sectors, in line with European CO2 reduction targets2, and will be progressively expanded to other companies and regions in northern Spain, as part of the 'Hub COnet2 Norte' project, which is part of the provisional list of European Projects of Common Interest (PCI). This joint initiative will facilitate the development of a coordinated strategy for applying for European funding, such as that from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and the Innovation Fund.
The Agreement will provide a decisive boost to the technical and commercial maturity of applications for these European funds, as it will be incorporated into the funding requests of each of the parties.
A pioneering collaboration model
The main objective of the 'Hub COnet2 North' Collaboration Agreement is to ensure an integrated, orderly and efficient development of the entire CO2 value chain in these territories: from CO2 capture in the participating industrial centres until its transport and distribution through the logistics infrastructures (which will include specific pipelines, a temporary storage and liquefaction terminal and the necessary maritime infrastructures) for its geological storage and/or valorisation.
Enagás and the Basque Government will jointly lead, in coordination with Nortegas, the design of the CO2 logistics infrastructure based on the Enagás Transporte del Norte (ETN) network and the Bahía de Bizkaia Gas (BBG) plant, both companies owned by Enagás and EVE. For their part, Petronor, Heidelberg Materials, Calcinor and Terresis centro de Magnesitas Navarras are in the process of developing their own CO2 capture projects. In addition, Petronor will study promoting CO2 valorisation technologies.This will reinforce the circular nature of the project and open up new industrial opportunities.
This project falls directly within the Basque Country Industry Plan 2030 as it integrated in the 'Hard to Zero' initiative, aimed at decarbonising industrial processes that are difficult to electrify. ‘Hard to Zero’ is recognised as a Transformative Project under the name ‘Decarbonisation Valley’, which reinforces its strategic character within the Basque industrial policy.
A key boost for developing the ‘North COnet2 Hub’
The 'North COnet2 Hub' is an example of public-private partnership aimed at building a coherent and efficient value chain for industrial CO2 management. Its joint development will optimise logistics costs, improve the viability of projects, and ensure that the different industrial decarbonisation initiatives follow a common roadmap. This will translate into an improvement in the industrial competitiveness of northern Spain and will reinforce the commitment to achieving European climate neutrality goals.
With the signing of the Agreement, the participating companies are taking a decisive step to promote a flagship project in the EU and are reinforcing their commitment to innovative solutions that will allow progress towards a viable and sustainable decarbonisation model.
/
