The Dutch government announced on Friday it will commit €639 million ($726 million) to support the construction of the country’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, following the partial withdrawal of TotalEnergies and Shell from their planned investments.
The two energy majors have opted out of funding the pipeline infrastructure needed to connect industrial emitters to the storage sites in depleted North Sea gas fields.
To keep the project—and its national climate targets—on track, the government stepped in to reduce risks for the remaining investors: state-owned energy company EBN and Dutch gas grid operator Gasunie.
“This removes a significant portion of the project’s risk,” said Climate Minister Sophie Hermans.
Despite scaling back their investments, Shell and TotalEnergies will remain involved in developing the storage sites and in providing storage and transport services to industrial clients, Gasunie said.
The companies’ decision comes amid a broader trend, with several European energy majors softening their climate ambitions and renewable energy targets to stay competitive against U.S. rivals maintaining a strong focus on oil and gas.
Shell and TotalEnergies did not respond to requests for comment.
A final investment decision on the Aramis project is expected in 2026. The storage network, with a projected annual capacity of 22 million tonnes of CO₂, is scheduled to be operational by 2030.
The project is seen as critical to the Netherlands’ goal of cutting carbon emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030. Although emissions were 37% lower than 1990 levels last year, the government’s chief climate advisory body has warned that the 2030 target is out of reach under current policies.
As part of broader efforts to accelerate climate action, the government also announced on Friday it will allocate €8 billion next year to subsidize sustainable energy projects and introduce new incentives for electric vehicles. In parallel, industries will be compensated for the relatively high cost of energy.