The Dutch government and Royal Cosun have signed a binding agreement on the sustainability of various production sites. The government is allocating up to €73 million to support the transition from natural gas to electricity and the production of certified green gas. The agreement is intended to accelerate the reduction of CO2 emissions in the food chain.
The investments are specifically focused on the factories in Vierverlaten, Groningen, and Steenderen, Gelderland, where production processes are being electrified. At the Venray site in Limburg, in addition to electrification, the focus is also on producing certified green gas. Royal Cosun is a cooperative of approximately eight thousand growers and processes agricultural products such as sugar beets and potatoes into ingredients for the food industry. The company is already one of the largest biogas producers in the Netherlands.
According to government estimates, implementing these plans will result in a reduction of 167 kilotons of CO2 by 2030 compared to the reference period of 2018 to 2021. This reduction is comparable to the annual natural gas consumption of approximately seventy thousand households. In addition to climate objectives, the agreement will also impact air quality. National nitrogen emissions are expected to decrease by 44 tons per year, while ammonia emissions in the Groningen region will decrease by 42 tons per year.
Implementing the projects in Groningen and Gelderland requires a total investment of €256 million. The majority of this will be financed by the cooperative itself, while the government contribution is capped at €73 million. This equates to a subsidy of approximately €48 per ton of CO2 avoided over a period of fifteen years. Although this agreement has now been formalized, both parties will explore the possibility of new binding agreements at other company locations in 2026.
Source: rijksoverheid.nl
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