By Kristian Thulesen Dahl, CEO at Port of Aalborg
In Denmark, for a long time we have had some of the world’s most ambitious climate goals. However, goals must be achieved before they add value.
Fortunately, the business community and the country’s leading researchers are ready to accelerate the pace of the green transition, and we are already seeing examples of this, especially in Northern Jutland and Aalborg, which I now can call my home ground.
Efforts are underway, among other things, to establish new Power-to-X facilities on both sides of the fjord, while Aalborg University has just initiated the scaling up of an e-methanol test facility. In May, the American energy company Fidelis New Energy presented plans for the construction of a large CO2 reception facility in Aalborg, capable of receiving over four million tons of CO2 annually and expandable to eight million annually in a very short time.
These are fantastic projects, all of which have the potential to play significant roles in the national infrastructure for CO2 capture and utilization, which is considered crucial to reaching our national reduction goals.
And it’s not by chance that all of this and much more is happening in Northern Jutland. For instance, we have a fantastic ability to collaborate across sectors, a world-leading research institution in the university, and forward-thinking businesses. The region’s many concrete and ambitious projects clearly demonstrate that Northern Jutland is ready to lead the way.
Through organizations like the business flagship CO2Vision, we are able to take a leading role and become a hub for the next major green wave: CO2 capture, utilization, and storage. I hope it will be noticed, even at my former workplace in the capital.
Because even though we are eager to lead, we cannot realize the full potential alone. We need political focus to support the development, alongside the drive and private investment enthusiasm. I am referring, among other things, to the need for decisions to be made regarding the Northern Jutland infrastructure for hydrogen and CO2. Decisions that are crucial for major players like Aalborg Forsyning, Aalborg Portland, Fidelis New Energy, and ourselves to collaborate on our common projects related to CO2 capture and storage, as well as the production of future green fuels.
But we need clarity to ensure progress – we cannot expect companies to continue taking the risk of investing until such vital decisions are in place.
Recently, Denmark entered into an agreement with Germany with a particular focus on paving the way for green hydrogen to be transported from Western Denmark to Northern Germany by a land-based hydrogen pipeline across the border between the two countries from 2028. So the willingness to prioritize infrastructure is there, and now the focus should also turn towards Northern Jutland.
