On the 27th of May the Government of the Republic of Lithuania recognised the carbon dioxide (CO2) transshipment terminal planned by international terminal operator and owner KN Energies in Klaipeda as a project of national importance.
The granting of the status of a project of national importance will enable priority and coordinated involvement of state and municipal institutions, allow simplified and accelerated spatial planning, environmental impact assessment and permitting procedures, reduce the risk of project delays, and help ensure the use of EU funding opportunities.
The planned terminal is part of the cross-border CO2 capture, transport and permanent storage chain of the CCS Baltic Consortium, established in 2022. It is the first cross-border CCS project of its kind in the region, strengthening cooperation between Lithuania and Latvia and promoting deeper integration of CO2 markets. Once implemented, the project will increase access to CO2 infrastructure, create more favourable conditions for industrial decarbonisation, and strengthen competition in the regional CO2 market.
The project covers the capture of carbon dioxide and its transport to the CO2 transshipment terminal in the Port of Klaipeda, from where it will be shipped to permanent storage sites in the North Sea. Commercial operations of the project are planned to begin in 2032.
In 2024, the European Commission granted the CCS Baltic Consortium project Project of Common Interest (PCI) status, recognising it as an important cross-border infrastructure project that significantly contributes to the implementation of EU energy policy and climate objectives. Part of the project is co-financed by the EU under the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy.
KN Energies is implementing the CO2 capture and storage project together with Akmenes cementas, German-owned Latvian company Schwenk Latvija, and international shipping companies Larvik Shipping and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.
This year, KN Energies and its partners will carry out the environmental impact assessment (EIA) analysis for the construction and operation of the CO2 transshipment terminal in Klaipeda, as well as the front-end engineering design (FEED) study, which will help prepare the solutions for the CO2 terminal and the entire CCS value chain required for the final investment decision.
The planned design capacity of the CO2 transshipment terminal in Klaipeda is 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Tomas Tumenas, Chief Financial Officer, +370 46 391772
