Marks first commercial CO2 transport and storage in Europe, a milestone for CCS deployment
Phase 1 capacity of 1.5 Mt per year is fully booked by industrial customers across Europe
Partners invest $744 million into Phase 2, expanding capacity to 5 Mt annually by 2028
Norway has officially launched operations at its Northern Lights carbon capture and storage (CCS) project with the injection of the first volumes of CO2 deep beneath the seabed. The project, developed by Shell, Equinor, and TotalEnergies, represents a breakthrough in Europe’s efforts to scale CCS for hard-to-abate industries.
The CO2, shipped from Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik cement plant, was transported by vessel to Øygarden before being piped 100 kilometers offshore and injected 2,600 meters below the seabed. The start of operations completes Phase 1 of the development, which has a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year—already fully booked by customers in Norway and continental Europe.
“This demonstrates the viability of carbon capture, transport and storage as a scalable industry,” said Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor.
RELATED ARTICLE: Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor Approve $700M Investment to Expand Northern Lights Carbon Storage Project
Northern Lights is the world’s first open-access CO2 transport and storage project, providing services to industrial emitters unable to cut emissions through electrification or renewable energy. Its customer base already includes five major industrial companies: Hafslund Celsio and Heidelberg Materials in Norway, Yara in the Netherlands, Ørsted in Denmark, and Stockholm Exergi in Sweden.
“With the start of operations of Northern Lights, we are entering a new phase for the CCS industry in Europe. This industry now moves to reality, offering hard-to-abate sectors a credible and tangible way to reduce CO2 emissions,” said Arnaud Le Foll, Senior Vice-President New Business – Carbon Neutrality at TotalEnergies.
The partners have also committed to invest 7.5 billion Norwegian crowns ($744 million) in a second phase, due online in 2028, which will expand annual storage capacity to more than 5 million tons.
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