Northern Lights Starts Commercial CO2 Storage Operations North Sea

The Northern Lights project, a collaboration between Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, has become the world's first commercial CO2 transport and storage facility, successfully injecting captured carbon dioxide deep beneath the North Sea seabed. Captured CO2 from industrial sites across Europe, including Heidelberg Materials’ cement plant in Norway, is transported by ship to the Øygarden terminal and then injected via a 100-kilometer pipeline into geological reservoirs 2,600 meters below the seabed, with a current storage capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year, fully booked by European industrial clients. The project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, waste-to-energy, and chemicals, and is supported by significant funding from the Norwegian government and the EU. Plans for expansion are underway to increase capacity to over 5 million tonnes annually by 2028, requiring additional infrastructure and new contracts with major industrial partners. Although carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is recognized by the IPCC and IEA as crucial for climate goals, it remains complex and costly, with some industries currently finding it more economical to buy pollution permits rather than invest in CCS. Northern Lights demonstrates the viability of CCS as a scalable industry through strong collaboration across governments, industry, and customers, marking a significant milestone in Europe's climate strategy.