First Injection Completed
Norway has officially opened the world’s first commercial carbon storage site, marking a turning point in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The Northern Lights consortium, led by Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, has successfully stored its first volume of CO₂ deep beneath the seabed of the North Sea.
At the announcement, Managing Director Tim Heijn stated: “The very first CO₂ has been injected and safely stored. This demonstrates that our ships, terminals, and wells are fully operational.”
Transport and Storage Chain
Captured emissions from European industries are shipped in liquid form to the Øygarden terminal, west of Bergen. From there, CO₂ passes through tanks and enters a 110 km pipeline, reaching a geological reservoir 2.6 km below the seabed for long-term storage.
Industrial Significance
Northern Lights targets industries that cannot easily decarbonize. The first CO₂ shipment came from Germany’s Heidelberg Materials cement plant in Brevik, one of Europe’s largest emitters. Additional agreements include:
- Yara’s ammonia production facility in the Netherlands
- Ørsted’s Danish biofuel plants
- Stockholm Exergi’s Swedish power station
Financing and Scale
Backed heavily by Norwegian state funding, Northern Lights has an annual capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, with expansion goals set at 5 million tonnes by decade’s end. This makes it one of the most ambitious CCS projects in the world.
Economic Hurdles
While CCS is championed by the IPCC and IEA as essential to climate mitigation, the economics are challenging. Many companies find it cheaper to purchase carbon allowances under the EU’s emissions trading scheme than to invest in capture, transport, and storage. This reality makes government subsidies crucial for CCS adoption.
