SPSE & Elengy

Over the years, we’ve come to associate the Rhône Valley with holidays and culture: vibrant cities such as Lyon and Marseille, the sweet nougat from Montélimar, and its role as the gateway to both the Alpes and the Côte d’Azur. Yet beyond its culinary delights and tourist appeal, did you know that it is also a very industrialised region, notably with cement, metallurgical and chemical factories? While these industries have contributed greatly to the region’s economic development, they are also significant sources of CO₂ emissions that are notoriously difficult to abate.

The Rhône CO₂ project

In response to this challenge, Société du Pipeline Sud-Européen (SPSE), operators of pipeline infrastructure in the Rhône Valley, and Elengy, operators of an LNG shipping terminal near Marseille, joined forces to establish the Rhône CO₂ project. This ambitious initiative seeks to give a second life to a 300 km mothballed pipeline, adapting it to transport up to 4 million tonnes of captured CO₂ per year. In addition, port terminal facilities are being extended to enable the shipping of CO₂ either for reuse in industrial processes or for safe storage. Together, these measures represent an important step towards lowering the carbon footprint of one of Europe’s most industrial regions.

Collaboration with Hezelburcht

To make this vision possible, SPSE and Elengy turned to Hezelburcht for support in securing European funding. Hezelburcht successfully guided the project partners through the application process for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Energy programme. Following the project’s selection, our team also supported the applicants during the Grant Agreement Negotiations. Looking ahead, Hezelburcht will continue to assist with project reporting, helping to ease the administrative burden so that SPSE and Elengy can fully concentrate on driving the energy transition forward.