Norway Launches Major CO2 Storage Initiative
Norway has made significant progress towards establishing itself as a central player in permanent CO2 storage with the Northern Lights facility – a collaboration among Equinor, TotalEnergies, and Shell – confirming the commencement of CO2 injection into the Norwegian continental shelf., reports 24brussels.
The project, which has been nearly ten years in development, is a crucial aspect of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which advocates claim can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The CO2 in question was captured from a cement factory that is part of the €2.88 billion (NOK 34 billion) ‘Longship’ CCS initiative, with the Norwegian government covering more than two-thirds of the funding.
Equinor CEO Anders Opedal characterized the achievement as a “major milestone,” underscoring the project’s potential to demonstrate the feasibility of scalable carbon capture, transport, and storage.
The inaugural CO2 shipment originated from Heidelberg Materials’ cement plant in Brevik, which was transported by ship to an intermediate terminal near Bergen. In the latest development, the Northern Lights project has begun injecting the compressed CO2 through a 100-kilometre undersea pipeline for permanent storage 2,600 meters beneath the seabed.
Fully Booked Capacity
The specifics regarding the amount of CO2 injected thus far and the associated costs remain undisclosed by the company. However, Northern Lights has claimed a storage capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, which Equinor has confirmed is already “fully booked.”
The consortium has plans to expand this capacity to 5 million tonnes annually, following an agreement with the Swedish energy firm Stockholm Exergi. This expansion effort is projected to cost €635 million, with €131 million sourced from an EU grant.
A Controversial Solution?
Supporters, including the European Commission, argue that CCS is vital for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Nonetheless, environmental activists caution that reliance on future CO2 removals may encourage ongoing fossil fuel consumption and the use of polluting technologies.
CCS technology, while promising, presents substantial costs and will only become economically viable in Europe if the price of emitting CO2 under the EU emissions trading system surpasses the expenses related to capturing and storing it.
Northern Lights has already secured CO2 transport and storage agreements with various firms, including Yara in the Netherlands, Ørsted in Denmark, and Stockholm Exergi in Sweden, in addition to the cement plant and a waste-to-energy facility operated by Hafslund Celsio in Oslo.
EU’s Storage Targets
The EU mandates that oil and gas companies within its jurisdiction establish storage facilities with a total injection capacity of 50 million tonnes annually by 2030. However, the EU, which does not include Norway as a member, currently has less than a quarter of the 3.28 million tonnes of operational capacity across Europe, according to the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers.
Italy and Croatia are presently the only EU countries with operational CCS projects, while Norway and Iceland – both members of the European Economic Area – feature three projects each.
“Norway’s leadership is setting the standard for Europe,” said former MEP Bergur Løkke Rasmussen, now head of the lobby group CCS Europe. He emphasized the importance of Norway’s vision as a model for accelerating CCS deployment throughout the EU.
Alexander Mäkelä, chief policy officer at Carbon Gap, praised the Northern Lights project as “Europe’s proof point that CO2 storage is real, scalable and bankable.” He asserted that the project should instill confidence in policymakers and markets alike regarding the critical role of storage and transport networks in helping Europe reduce emissions while maintaining global industrial competitiveness.
