Energy companies TotalEnergies, Equinor and Shell have announced the final investment decision (FID) for the second phase of their carbon dioxide transport and storage project Northern Lights, which will increase capacity from 1.5 million to more than 5 million tonnes of CO2 per year from 2028.
The first phase is completed and ready to receive CO2 from industrial emitters. Operations are expected to start this summer, with the first transportation by ship from Heidelberg Materials’ cement factory at Brevik, Norway and its injection and permanent storage in a reservoir 2.6 km below the seabed, off the coast of Øygarden, western Norway.
The second phase announced today represents an investment of NOK7.5bn (about $700m) and leverages existing onshore and offshore infrastructures. This expansion includes new onshore storage tanks, pumps, a jetty, injection wells and transport vessels, which are all expected to be completed for start-up by the second half of 2028.
The investment in phase two follows the signing of a 15-year commercial agreement between Northern Lights and Swedish district energy provider Stockholm Exergi for the cross-border transport and storage of 900,000 tonnes of biogenic CO2 emissions annually, starting in 2028, and follows the latter reaching FID on what it describes as the ‘world’s first’ large-scale BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) project, which uses Capsol’s carbon capture technology.
Stockholm Exergi is the fifth company to commit with Northern Lights for transport and storage of its CO2 emissions, after Heidelberg Materials and Celsio in Norway, Yara in the Netherlands and Ørsted in Denmark. Northern Lights is in advanced discussions with several large European industrial customers to market the remaining storage capacity.
Nicolas Terraz, President of Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, said the approval of the second phase marks a significant step forward for the carbon, capture and storage (CCS) industry.
Tim Heijn, Managing Director of Northern Lights JV, said the decision to expand its CO2 transport and storage services is the next step in building a commercially viable CCS market in Europe.
“The investment decision is an important milestone for our company, our customers and industry partners, governments and regulators,” he said.
Marianne Olsnes, Managing Director in A/S Norske Shell, said the expanded storage capacity of the Northern Lights site provides an attractive offering for European industrial emitters who might otherwise struggle to decarbonise. “Norway possesses a vast amount of CO₂ storage capacity and has a highly skilled industry workforce with capability and capacity to build and operate CO₂ transport and storage at scale,” she said.
Huibert Vigeveno, Shell Downstream, Renewables and Energy Solutions Director, said proceeding with phase two of Northern Lights is another key milestone when it comes to CCS and helping customers in hard-to-abate sectors to decarbonise, and builds on “decades of experience” developing CCS projects around the globe.
