Scheldt Delta Region takes responsibility in making industry more sustainable
The Scheldt Delta region is one of five industrial clusters in the Netherlands. More than a fifth of Dutch industrial CO2 emissions takes place in this region, which stretches from Bergen op Zoom towards Vlissingen, Terneuzen and along the Canal Zone to Ghent.
Concrete plans
Greenhouse gas emissions in industry must be reduced to zero by 2050. Industry in Zeeland, united in the Smart Delta Resources partnership, aims to reduce CO2 emissions by more than half in 9 years. To speed things up, the frontrunners Dow, Yara and Zeeland Refinery plan to achieve a reduction of 3.9 Mtonnes of CO2 in five years' time.
Smart Delta Resources has chosen four routes: switching to CO2-free hydrogen, using green electricity for industrial processes, capturing, storing and reusing CO2 and reusing residual heat. Concrete plans of the companies via these routes are bundled in the priority programs Hydrogen Delta, Carbon Connect Delta, Spark Delta and Heat Delta.
Of great importance
With approximately 11 Mton per year, the region provides approximately 20% of Dutch industrial CO2 emissions. The consumption of 580 kton H2 per year also makes the region the largest hydrogen consumer in the Benelux. This combination offers opportunities and the industry is grabbing it with both hands.
In addition, it is of great importance that the regional industry, with the SDR-partners Air Liquide, Air Products, ArcelorMittal, Cargill, Cosun Beet Company, Dow, Lamb Weston/Meijer, Ørsted, PZEM, Trinseo, Vopak, Yara en Zeeland Refinery, remains competitive and innovative.
The cross-border port area of North Sea Port, where the industry cluster is located, is very important for the region with an added value of 12.5 billion euros and a total of 100,000 employees. Finally, it is expected that the plans will lead to more new sustainable companies settling in the region.
The energy transition requires huge investments, large amounts of CO2-free energy and an appropriate infrastructure. Smart Delta Resources works every day to realize this, together with Impuls Zeeland, North Sea Port and the Province of Zeeland.
