Europe's largest carbon capture facility opens in Netherlands

AMSTERDAM, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The largest carbon capture facility in Europe opened in the Netherlands on Monday, developed by Norwegian fertiliser company Yara International.

The carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Sluiskil, in the southern Dutch province of Zeeland, will cut emissions at one of Europe's largest fertiliser production sites and transport captured carbon to Norway, Yara said.

From 2026, Yara Sluiskil will capture and liquefy up to 800,000 metric tons of CO2 a year. The carbon will be transported and stored 2.6 km (1.6 miles) beneath the seabed on the Norwegian continental shelf by transport and storage operator Northern Lights.

Over 15 years, Yara expects to remove about 12 million tons of CO2 from the site.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said the Sluiskil project offers a solution that is both scientifically advanced and commercially viable.    

"Our climate challenge lies in industry because that's where we find the combination of labor, capital, and technology. And of course energy is all around it. So being modern energy nations, the Netherlands is first among them, is the way to go,"  Stoere said.

The European Union plans to use carbon capture technology to help meet its 2050 net-zero emissions target, particularly for industrial processes such as chemical manufacturing, where low-carbon alternatives are not yet available.

But the technology has struggled for decades in Europe because of questions over commercial viability and opposition from environmental campaigners and some governments. Critics say CCS can allow companies to continue producing oil and gas while promising to capture emissions in the future.

(Reporting by Marta Fiorin. Additional reporting by Kate Abnett. Writing by Anthony Deutsch. Editing by Mark Potter)