A Dutch carbon capture and storage project Athos has bit the dust as the key potential supplier of  the CO₂ Tata Steel has decided to use hydrogen for production, founding member Gasunie said September 20.

The Tata Steel decision to switch to direct reduced iron (DRI) technology means that the Athos-project cannot proceed in its current form, the Dutch pipeline system operator said.

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Tata Steel published its decision to take the hydrogen route September 15 in order to make its steel production more sustainable faster. "The Athos-partners have therefore jointly agreed to terminate the Athos project in its current form," Gasunie said.

In the months ahead, the partners will continue to engage with Tata Steel to assess the possibilities for supporting Tata Steel and its new course, and therefore to contribute to the regional CO₂-reduction targets in the North Sea Canal area and the execution of the Climate Agreement.

Gasunie has plans to develop hydrogen pipeline networks in – and eventually between – industrial clusters. Its partners were Dutch state producer EBN and the Port of Amsterdam. Gasunie has already demonstrated that it can store hydrogen safely in salt caverns, technology which is also proven in Germany.

The two other Alexandre-Dumas-based Dutch CCS projects, Aramis and Porthos, are still extant.