Norway launches First Commercial Carbon Transport And Storage Unit

Norway is ready to start its subsea carbon storage Unit, marking the launch of the world’s first commercial operation for transporting and storing CO2. Through the Northern Lights project, the country will capture CO2 emissions from factories in Europe before injecting them under the seabed into geological reservoirs.

The objective of the terminal is to store CO2 out of the atmosphere and contribute to the efforts towards reducing climate change. The land-based terminal is situated at Oygarden island on the North Sea coast. There, liquefied CO2 shipped by boat will be injected into the seabed through a 2.6-kilometer-long pipeline for permanent storage.

It is a partnership of Norway’s Equinor with Shell and TotalEnergies. Northern Lights will store its first deliveries of CO2 by 2025 with initial capacity at 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year. The storage could be expanded to five million tonnes if the demand grows.

The carbon capture and storage technology project aim of proving the viability of the technology. Apart from proving CCS, it can also be used to mitigate emissions in hard-to-abate industries like cement and steel. Despite its low global CCS capacity now, captured at 50.5 million tonnes and comprises a mere 0.1% of yearly emissions.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the target for climate change by 2030 requires at least one billion tonnes of CO2 avoided annually. CCS technology is still dependent on public subsidies. The Norwegian government has funded 80% of the cost of the Northern Lights project since it is almost entirely dependent on public support to progress.

The depleted oil and gas fields along the North Sea could be an excellent location for CO2 storage. Besides, several projects are already being developed, such as the Greensand scheme off Denmark, plus a facility by Eni off Italy’s coast.

The Northern Lights is a part of Norway’s overall Longship project: an effort to capture and store $2.9 billion in CO2. Challenges notwithstanding, the project has sealed deals with companies located across borders to store CO2 from a wide number of industries in Europe already.