Northern Lights Joint Venture Expands CO2 Transport and Storage Capacity

The Northern Lights joint venture partners Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies have recently announced their final investment decision to move forward with phase two of the Northern Lights CO2 transport and storage development. This decision will significantly increase the project’s transport and storage capacity from 1.5 million to over 5 million tons of CO2 per year starting from 2028.

Phase One Success and Project Overview

The first phase of Northern Lights is part of the Longship full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project initiated by the Norwegian government. It aims to demonstrate large-scale CO2 capture, transport, and storage, with Northern Lights focusing specifically on the transport and storage aspects.

CO2 captured and liquefied from customers’ sites is transported by ship to the onshore receiving terminal at Øygarden and then further transported via pipeline to a storage reservoir 2,600 meters under the North Sea seabed.

The official opening ceremony of the CO2 transport and storage facility in Øygarden took place on September 26, 2024, marking its readiness to receive and store CO2. The first phase is completed, fully booked, and set to start operations this summer with the first CO2 transportation from Heidelberg Materials’ cement factory in Brevik, Norway.

Phase Two Expansion and Funding

The second phase of the project, representing an investment of NOK 7.5 billion, has received approval for €131 million in funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) scheme. The expansion includes new onshore storage tanks, pumps, a jetty, injection wells, and transport vessels in Øygarden, with completion expected by the second half of 2028.

A 15-year commercial agreement has been signed with Swedish district energy provider Stockholm Exergi for the cross-border transport and storage of 900,000 tons of biogenic CO2 emissions annually as part of the Bio-Energy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) project.

Industry Commitments and Future Prospects

Stockholm Exergi is the latest company to commit to Northern Lights, joining Heidelberg Materials, Celsio, Yara, and Ørsted. Discussions are ongoing with several European industrial customers to utilize the remaining storage capacity, signaling a growing interest in CO2 transport and storage solutions.

The Managing Director of Northern Lights JV, Tim Heijn, emphasized the importance of expanding CO2 transport and storage services to build a commercially viable CCS market in Europe. Equinor will continue as the technical service provider for phase two.

Executive Vice President Irene Rummelhoff from Equinor highlighted the crucial role of large-scale carbon capture, transport, and storage in achieving climate targets and enabling hard-to-abate industrial emitters to decarbonize their processes.

With the second phase of Northern Lights set to enhance CO2 transport and storage capabilities significantly, the project is poised to play a key role in Europe’s transition towards a more sustainable future.