A cross-border carbon dioxide (CO2) transport and storage facility has officially been opened by the Norwegian Minister of Energy, and it’s believed to be a world first.
Representing a joint venture between Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, the Northern Lights project will capture CO2 from industrial sources and ship liquid CO2 to the terminal in Øygarden.
From there, the liquid CO2 will be transported via a pipeline to an offshore storage location below the seabed in the North Sea for permanent storage.
As of the official opening, the Northern Lights project is ready to receive CO2 from European industries and expects to make its first CO2 injections in 2025.
Terje Aasland, Norwegian Minister of Energy, said the project marks a proud moment, not just for Norway but for the advancement of carbon capture and storage (CCS) worldwide.
The first phase of the project will capture and store 1.5 million tonnes per annum of CO2 per annum, which is already fully booked. Heidelberg Materials has reserved 0.8 million tonnes annually for its cement factory in Brevik and Hafslund Oslo Celsio waste-to-energy plant.
The Northern Lights project is working to expand the storage capacity in the future.
Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor, said the completion of the facility marks an important milestone for the global development of a business model for carbon capture, transport, and storage.
“It opens a value chain for decarbonisation of European industry and energy and shows the role we and our partners take in developing low carbon solutions in the energy transition.”
The Northern Lights partnership began in 2017. Construction of the facilities began in 2021 after the owners finalised its investment decision and received a vote of approval.
According to market research, as of March 2024, Europe had 125 projects in the commercial CCS facilities pipeline. Of this total, 115 were in construction or development, while four were operational[1]. CO2 View believes the Northern Lights project would make five operational projects.
