Norway Launches World’s First Commercial Offshore CO2 Storage with First Injection into North Sea
In a groundbreaking move to combat climate change, Norway's Northern Lights project has successfully completed its first-ever commercial carbon dioxide (CO2) injection into the North Sea seabed, marking a major milestone for global carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
The project, a joint venture between Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, officially began operations this week. It is the world’s first commercial carbon storage service, designed to help industries across Europe reduce their carbon footprint by transporting and permanently storing captured CO2 under the ocean floor.
“We’ve now injected and safely stored the very first CO2 in our reservoir,” said Tim Heijn, Managing Director of Northern Lights. “Our ships, facilities, and wells are fully operational.”
How the Carbon Storage Process Works
Captured CO2 from industrial sources, such as smokestacks, is first liquefied and then shipped to the Øygarden terminal near Bergen, on Norway’s western coast. From there, the CO2 is transferred into large holding tanks and then pumped through a 110-kilometer (68-mile) pipeline into a geological reservoir beneath the North Sea, at a depth of around 2.6 kilometers.
This offshore storage is designed for permanent sequestration, ensuring that the greenhouse gas cannot re-enter the atmosphere.
A Climate Solution for Hard-to-Decarbonize Industries
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have both highlighted carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a critical technology to meet global climate goals. CCS is particularly vital for industries like cement, steel, and chemicals, where direct emissions are difficult to eliminate.
The first CO2 stored in the Northern Lights project came from Germany's Heidelberg Materials cement plant in Brevik, southeastern Norway.
Challenges Facing CCS Projects
Despite its potential, carbon capture remains expensive. Without government support, many companies still find it cheaper to buy carbon offsets or pollution permits through the EU Emissions Trading System than to invest in CCS infrastructure.
Northern Lights, primarily funded by the Norwegian government, currently has the capacity to store 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year. That figure is expected to grow to 5 million tonnes annually by 2030.
So far, only three commercial contracts have been signed:
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Yara ammonia plant in the Netherlands
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Two biofuel plants operated by Ørsted in Denmark
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Stockholm Exergi thermal power plant in Sweden
These early partnerships signal a step forward, but broad adoption of CCS will depend on stronger incentives, international cooperation, and more aggressive climate policies.