Solution

Executive Summary

This report presents a strategic appraisal of the Aramis Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project, a collaborative initiative among major European energy companies including Shell, TotalEnergies, Gasunie, and EBN. The project aims to decarbonize hard-to-abate industrial sectors by capturing CO₂ emissions and storing them offshore beneath the North Sea. In light of rising EU carbon prices, net-zero commitments, and mounting regulatory pressures, this initiative has emerged as a technically viable and commercially promising solution.

The report evaluates the project’s technical importance, business objectives, competitive positioning, and maturity of development, and provides insights into its financial, sustainability, and operational potential.

Key findings include:

• Strong technical viability, supported by the use of proven carbon capture and offshore storage technologies, as well as advanced monitoring and verification systems.
• A scalable, open-access infrastructure model, enabling multiple industrial emitters to participate, which reduces costs and promotes broad sectoral adoption.
• Strategic geographic positioning near key industrial hubs, lowering logistical costs and facilitating rapid deployment.
• Robust financial prospects, underpinned by rising EU carbon prices, long-term storage contracts, and potential access to public subsidies.
• Operational readiness, demonstrated by completed feasibility studies and early engineering, with backing from experienced energy firms.

Based on this evaluation, the report recommends that the SPV and its stakeholders proceed with investing in the Aramis project. Immediate actions should include securing long-term industrial contracts, leveraging EU funding, and implementing a phased development plan to manage risk and adapt to market dynamics. The integration of Aramis with future CO₂ and hydrogen infrastructure networks may further reinforce its value as a core component of Europe’s long-term decarbonization strategy.

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction. 2

2.0 Background to the Project 2

3.0 Technical Importance. 3

4.0 Business Objectives. 5

5.0 Competitive Advantage. 5

6.0 Research and Development Maturity. 7

7.0 The Project’s Potential 7

7.1 Financial 7

7.2 Sustainability. 8

7.3 Operational 9

8.0 Recommendations for the SPV and its Stakeholders. 10

9.0 Conclusion. 11

References. 13

Figure 1: The Aramis Process of Trapping Carbon and Cutting Emissions. 3

Figure 2: Hard-to-abate sectors and their contribution to carbon emissions in EU industries 4

Figure 3: The Aramis Project Phased Design. 4

Figure 4: An illustration of Aramis CCS Project Location for Competitive Advantage. 6

Figure 5: The EU Carbon Pricing as of 2023. 8

Figure 6: EU net Zero 2050 Targets 9

Figure 7: Industry sector breakdown of firms’ carbon emissions that can be linked to funding from euro area banks  11

1.0 Introduction

This briefing note presents an initial appraisal of the Aramis Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project, a collaborative initiative led by leading European energy companies. As global industries face increasing pressure to decarbonise and meet stringent climate targets, CCS technologies have emerged as a promising solution for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, cement, and chemicals. The assessment evaluates the project’s overall viability from financial, sustainability, and operational perspectives, positioning it against a growing range of alternative emission-reduction strategies available to industry. It aims to inform the SPV’s strategic decision on whether to continue promoting and investing in this capital-intensive initiative amidst a highly competitive, fast-moving, and increasingly regulated global energy transition landscape.

2.0 Background to the Project

The Aramis CCS Project is a significant collaborative initiative among prominent European energy companies, including Gasunie, Shell, and TotalEnergies (Jennifer, 2025).   The project aims to enable the decarbonisation of challenging industrial sectors by capturing CO₂ emissions from industrial clusters in the Netherlands and transporting them through pipeline to offshore storage sites beneath the North Sea seabed, as depicted in Figure 1 below;

Figure 1: The Aramis Process of Trapping Carbon and Cutting Emissions

Source: Aramis CSS (2025)

Aramis forms a critical part of the Netherlands’ and wider European Union’s climate strategies to meet net-zero emissions targets by 2050 (Chakaodza, 2024). The project will initially provide infrastructure capable of transporting and permanently storing up to 22 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, with scalability for future expansion. Its open-access infrastructure model is intended to serve multiple emitters, encouraging a shared decarbonisation approach. Positioned alongside alternative emission-reduction strategies, Aramis represents a capital-intensive, technically complex venture addressing urgent environmental and regulatory demands within Europe’s industrial economy (Holleman, 2021).

3.0 Technical Importance

The Aramis CCS Project represents a technically significant development within Europe’s industrial decarbonisation strategy. It is designed to capture large volumes of CO₂ emissions from industrial sources, transport them through a dedicated pipeline network, and permanently store them in depleted gas fields beneath the North Sea (Aramis CCS, 2023). This closed-loop infrastructure minimises the risk of CO₂ re-entering the atmosphere, offering a reliable solution for industries where direct emissions reduction through renewable alternatives remains impractical or cost-prohibitive, such as cement, chemicals, and steel industries (See Figure 2)

Figure 2: Hard-to-abate sectors and their contribution to carbon emissions in EU industries

Source: ICF (2023)

A key technical feature of the Aramis project is its open-access, multi-user infrastructure model. According to Hoenderdos (2023), this allows various industrial emitters to connect to a centralised transportation and storage network, optimising economies of scale and reducing individual investment burdens. The project’s phased design ensures operational flexibility, with an initial annual storage capacity of up to 22 million tonnes of CO₂ and potential for future expansion, illustrated by figure 2;

Figure 3: The Aramis Project Phased Design

Source: Aramis CCS (2025)

Moreover, Aramis aligns with stringent European Union climate and emissions directives, integrating advanced monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems to track stored CO₂ volumes and site integrity (Aramis CCS, 2024). The use of proven subsea storage technology further enhances its technical credibility. Hence, as carbon pricing mechanisms tighten, the project’s infrastructure will become increasingly vital for enabling industrial compliance and advancing the region’s net-zero ambitions (World Bank Group, 2022).

4.0 Business Objectives

The Aramis CCS Project……

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