The end of summer marks a new political season, during which the newly formed cabinet really gets down to business. Aramis will be looking out for some key events in the political calendar, including the parliamentary debate on carbon capture and storage (CCS).

First debate since 2010
The detailed government programme is expected to be presented shortly. But that’s not all because for the first time since 2010, parliament will hold a dedicated debate on CCS with Sophie Hermans, the new minister for Climate Policy and Green Growth.

The debate on 26 September will focus on CCS’s role in achieving climate goals, market organisation and possible hurdles in the development of CCS and other energy infrastructure. CCS offers hard-to-abate industries a solution to decarbonise processes and reduce emissions. The Netherlands is a proud pioneer of this technology, and Aramis and Porthos are leading the way as the EU’s first advanced CO₂ transport and storage projects.

Members of parliament visit Aramis and Porthos
On 9 September, four members of parliament — Joris Thijssen (GroenLinks-PvdA), Silvio Erkens (VVD), Wytske Postma (NSC) and Ilana Rooderkerk (D66) — visited Porthos and Aramis. With Porthos construction work in full swing, Aramis making excellent progress and the parliamentary debate on CCS scheduled for 26 September, the timing of the visit was ideal. Project directors Hans Meeuwsen (Porthos) and Annemarie Manger (Aramis) took the opportunity to provide the MPs with detailed insight into their respective CCS initiatives.

The contractors are steadily moving forward with Porthos, so the visitors had a chance to witness the energy transition taking shape before their eyes. The on-site activities showed how CCS, through Porthos and Aramis, can make a timely and significant contribution to the 2030 climate targets while ensuring a healthy, clean future for Dutch industry

Debate on decarbonisation of industry
Another debate on industrial decarbonisation will be held in October. Like the debate in September, this should have a considerable bearing on CCS development in the Netherlands. In the next newsletter, we will report on both debates.