Norway is set to inaugurate a key terminal for its Northern Lights project, which aims to provide the first commercial service for CO2 transport and storage. The project will capture carbon dioxide emissions from European factories and inject them into geological reservoirs beneath the seabed to prevent their release into the atmosphere, thereby mitigating climate change. The CO2 will be liquefied, transported by boat to the facility on the island of Oygarden, and then injected 2.6 kilometers below the sea floor. The joint venture, involving Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, plans to start operations in 2025, with an initial storage capacity of 1.5 million tons per year, which could be expanded to 5 million tons if demand increases.
The project is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which, while costly and complex, is considered essential for decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries like cement and steel. The current global capacity for CCS is only 50.5 million tons annually, a mere 0.1% of global emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. Northern Lights aims to make a significant impact in helping achieve global climate targets.
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