Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies Open CO2 Storage Facility in Norway

Shell, Equinor and TotalEnergies said on Thursday that their carbon dioxide (CO2) storage project on Norway’s west coast is now complete and ready to receive CO2, with its first deliveries expected next year.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has long been highlighted as a way to reduce CO2 emissions, but there are few commercial projects, with Norway launching the Longship project in 2020, which includes the Northern Lights site.

“Today we have reached an important milestone in our journey to demonstrate CCS as a viable option to help achieve climate goals,” said Tim Heijn, managing director of the joint venture, at the facility’s unveiling.

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The partners look forward to receiving the first volumes in 2025, said Arnaud Le Foll, senior vice president at TotalEnergies.

The site consists of 12 metal tanks on land, capable of temporarily storing a 7,500 cubic meter cargo from one of the custom vessels commissioned to deliver liquefied CO2.

This is then sent through a 110 kilometer pipeline for permanent storage in a rock formation 2,600 meters below sea level.

The first phase of the Northern Lights can inject 37.5 million metric tons of CO2 over a 25-year period, or 1.5 million tons per year. A second phase targets a further 3.5 million tonnes per year.

The first delivery will come from a capture facility at Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik cement plant in southern Norway, which is also part of the Longship project.

The German group told Reuters it plans to complete the installation by the end of the year, followed by a period of testing, but did not specify a timetable for the first shipment.

Northern Lights also has deals for CO2 transport and storage for fertilizer maker Yara and Orsted in Denmark from 2025 and 2026 respectively, while a project to capture waste from an Oslo plant is on hold due to budget issues.

(Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo; Editing by Alexander Smith)