The European Commission decided on Wednesday to provide a 150 million euros (about 206 U.S. dollars) grant for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration project to a joint venture between power and gas companies in the Netherlands, namely E.ON and GDF Suez.

The joint venture will construct a carbon capture plant in the Rotterdam port area to capture part of the CO2 emitted by E.ON's coal-fired power plant. The captured CO2, which is expected to amount to 1.1 million tons a year, will be transported through a pipeline to a depleted gas field in the North Sea for storage.

"The Dutch CCS project will contribute to reaching the EU 2020 environmental objectives without unduly distorting competition," Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy Joaqun Almunia declared.