Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest seaport, is at the forefront of the continent’s industrial decarbonization through integrated CCS, hydrogen and ammonia projects. The Porthos CCS project is a landmark public-private venture, while new hydrogen infrastructure through ELYgator and the linked Aramis CCS scheme further accelerate transition by enabling large-scale production. Cluster structure and governance The Port Authority is both a project orchestrator and critical infrastructure owner, partnering with private organizations to catalyse project development. Three major projects serve as the backbone for CCS in the cluster: Porthos, Aramis and CO 2next. Porthos, a state-owned JV between EBN, Gasunie, Port of Rotterdam Authority, manages shared transport and offshore storage. Aramis (EBN and Gasunie) extends CCS reach via additional pipelines and cross-cluster links. CO 2next (led by Gasunie and Vopak) provides network access for industrial emitters not connected to the pipeline network through its liquid CO2 terminal. Another major project linked to Rotterdam is ELYgator, a flagship 200 MW electrolyser complex led by Air Liquide, integrating proton exchange membrane (PEM) and alkaline electrolysis technologies (the first of its kind at this scale in Europe) to diversify production capacity.63 ELYgator will produce around 23,000 tonnes per year of renewable hydrogen;64 130 MW of volume will be used to supply green hydrogen to TotalEnergies’ Antwerp platform, again showing increasing use of inter-cluster connections. In return, TotalEnergies will supply electricity produced from its OranjeWind offshore wind farm. The Port of Rotterdam is also driving development of two additional infrastructure projects central to industrial transition in the Netherlands and Europe more broadly. First, the Hynetwork, a 100% subsidiary of Gasunie, completed its initial 32-kilometre pipeline from Maasvlakte 2 in Rotterdam to Shell Pernis refinery in 2025.65 Once complete, Hynetwork will connect five industrial clusters in the Netherlands to other industrial hubs in Germany and Belgium to distribute green hydrogen. Alongside this, the WarmtelinQ (also led by Gasunie) residual heat pipeline project, currently under phased construction, will provide residual heat from the Port of Rotterdam to heat homes in South Holland.66 By harnessing and redistributing industrial heat that would otherwise be wasted, it significantly reduces CO2 emissions and supports the region’s climate goals and circular economy ambition. Finance models and structures Given previous failed attempts to develop CCS technology in the cluster, Port of Rotterdam initiated Project Porthos, engaging organizations that have significant knowledge to develop the underlying infrastructure. Execution responsibilities (and financing commitments) have been allocated based on partner expertise. Responsibility for and investment into the onshore infrastructure is a 50:50 split between Gasunie and Port of Rotterdam. For the compressor and offshore storage, it is a 50:50 split between EBN and Gasunie. Responsibility for Porthos system operations is a 50:50 JV between EBN and Gasunie. The three organizations are equal shareholders for overall project execution and oversight of the Porthos commercial entity. Such sharply defined responsibilities ensure that shareholders have a clear mandate on the specific areas to invest in, also limiting the need for project financing. Between the European Commission and the Dutch government, Porthos has benefitted from market-leading support, with a range of financial products being deployed over the years, including pure grants, subsidies and CfDs through the SDE++ scheme. The SDE++ scheme is the government’s flagship subsidy programme which closes the gap between CCUS costs and carbon market prices.67 In addition, industrial emitters (Air Liquide, Air Products, ExxonMobil, Shell) have long-term contracts with Porthos to store CO2 – providing revenue certainty. In the case of ELYgator, support from the European Commission (a €99 million EU Innovation Fund grant) and the Dutch government (an Important Project of Common European Interest subsidy) was crucial in supporting early project development. In addition, as one of 11 recipients of the Netherland’s OWE subsidy scheme for large-scale hydrogen production, the government will cover up to 80% of project capital costs and provide an operating subsidy per kilogram of hydrogen produced. However, most notably, the partnership agreement arranged between Air Liquide and TotalEnergies in early 2025 has provided guaranteed long-term demand, allowing Air Liquide to commit its own €500 million capex investment. The remaining supply will be distributed through Air Liquide’s regional pipeline network for use across industry and heavy mobility in the Netherlands and Belgium. From Blueprint to Reality: A Stronger Business Case for Shared Energy Infrastructure 40

From Blueprint to Reality 2026