TotalEnergies, Equinor and Shell have completed the carbon dioxide (CO2) receiving and storage facilities at the Northern Lights joint venture in Øygarden, Norway.
The facilities consist of a terminal that will receive CO2 cargoes, a 100km subsea pipeline for CO2 transportation to the offshore storage location, and subsea injection facilities for permanent CO2 storage in a reservoir 2,600m below the seabed.
Northern Lights – billed as the world’s first commercial CO2 transport and storage project – is now ready to receive CO2 from European industries, with first injection expected in 2025.
Developing CO2 transportation and storage services is one of the necessary levers to reduce emissions and a realistic decarbonisation solution for European industry.
The first phase was supported by the Norwegian government and has a capacity of 1.5 Mt CO2/year, which has been fully booked by customers in Norway and Continental Europe. Studies are under way for a capacity expansion to more than 5 Mt CO2/y in a second phase.
Capacity of 0.8 million tonnes annually has been reserved for the Heidelberg Materials cement factory in Brevik and Hafslund Oslo Celsio waste-to-energy plant.
Terje Aasland, Norwegian Minister of Energy, said today’s ceremony marks a significant milestone for the joint venture and advancement of CCS globally.
Tim Heijn, Managing Director of Northern Lights JV, said, “The whole world is looking to Norway to learn about CCS. Since construction started, we have welcomed more than 10,000 visitors from more than 50 countries.”
Arnaud Le Foll, Senior Vice-President New Business – Carbon Neutrality at TotalEnergies, said it has been a long journey since its partnership with the Norwegian State, Equinor and Shell was established in 2017.
“We look forward to receiving the first volumes from hard-to-abate emitters in 2025. This will bring a strong contribution to the decarbonisation of European industry”, he said.
Grete Tveit, Senior Vice-President Low Carbon Solutions at Equinor, said the launch marked an important milestone in the work of establishing a CCS value-chain in Europe.
Anna Mascolo, Executive Vice-President, Shell Low Carbon Solutions, said CCS has a vital role to play in helping society achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.
“Alongside efforts to avoid and reduce emissions, CCS will be an essential tool in supporting our customers on their decarbonisation journeys, particularly in those industries that are harder to decarbonise,” she said.
