Northern Lights Project- The JV between Shell, Equinor, and TotalEnergies for the carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Øygarden, Norway is now ready to receive CO2 from industries in Norway and Europe. This was a moment of celebration for the Norway Government with Northern Lights becoming the first to offer commercial CO2 transport and storage services in the region.
Terje Aasland, Norwegian Minister of Energy.
“Today’s ceremony marks a significant milestone—one that fills us with great pride and hope for the future. This is a proud moment not just for Northern Lights as a company, but for Norway and for the advancement of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) worldwide”.
Northern Lights JV Powers Norway’s Full-Scale CCS Project
The Northern Lights project plays a pivotal role in Norway’s ambitious Longship initiative, a full-scale CCS project that was rolled out in 2020. It focuses on capturing CO2 from industrial sources and storing it permanently under the seabed in the North Sea.
Tim Heijn, Managing Director of Northern Lights JV.
“Today we achieved an important milestone on our journey to demonstrate CCS as a viable option to help achieve climate goals. The whole world is looking to Norway to learn about CCS. Since construction started, we have welcomed more than 10,000 visitors from more than 50 countries. Today we celebrated the completion of the facilities together with the people of our host municipality Øygarden, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy, and key stakeholders, including policymakers and industry partners in the CCS chain. All are instrumental for the success of Northern Lights and the CCS business in Europe”.
Source: TotalEnergies
CO2 Journey: From Capture to Storage
Grete Tveit, Senior Vice President of Low Carbon Solutions at Equinor remarked,
“This is an exciting day for Equinor, Northern Lights Joint Venture, and our partners Shell and TotalEnergies. We are proud that Northern Lights, as part of the Longship value chain, has now been completed and is ready to receive CO2. It is an important milestone in the work of establishing a Carbon Capture and Storage value-chain in Europe.”
The process begins with CO2 capture from various industrial sites, including the Brevik cement plant owned by Heidelberg Materials in southern Norway. Here’s how Northern Lights manages the entire transport and storage journey:
- CO2 is captured and liquefied at the industrial facilities.
- It’s shipped to the Øygarden terminal, which features 12 large metal tanks for temporary storage.
- The terminal temporarily holds 7,500 cubic meters of liquefied CO2, delivered by custom-built ships.
- From there, CO2 travels through a 110-kilometer pipeline to a permanent storage site.
The offshore storage location, 2,600 meters below the seabed, ensures long-term CO2 containment in a rock formation.
The storage capacity can handle large volumes of CO2, with Phase 1 capable of injecting 1.5 MMTs annually, amounting to a total of 37.5 MMTs over 25 years. In Phase 2, the project plans to increase its capacity by an additional 3.5 MMTs per year, significantly boosting its ability to store CO2 from industrial sources.
Source: Equinor
Project Collaboration and Investment
As Northern Lights pioneers commercial CO2 transport and storage, it’s playing a key role in Norway’s strategy to reduce emissions and lead global efforts in decarbonization.
Partners Share: TotalEnergies (33.3%), Equinor (33.3%), Shell (33.3%)
Carbon Emissions in Norway
Equinor to Oversee Infrastructure
Equinor is responsible for overseeing the construction of both the onshore and offshore facilities. The press release highlights that the project has a total cost of 7.5 billion NOK, which does not include the CO2 capture plants or ships. A significant 80% of the first phase’s funding is provided by the Norwegian government as part of the Longship initiative.
Meanwhile, Equinor continues to expand its CCS projects, exploring new opportunities across the Snøhvit and Sleipner fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Additionally, it is developing new onshore and offshore CCS projects in Northwest Europe, the UK, and the US. These advancements depend on ongoing collaboration between governments, industry, customers, and regulators to implement large-scale carbon capture and storage solutions effectively.
Shell Takes a New Step in Norway
Shell is already well-established in Norway. However, the Northern Lights Project is another feather in their cap. Marianne Olsnes, Shell’s CEO in Norway, views it as a blueprint for a new business model aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. She believes it represents a crucial first step toward a significant industrial opportunity for Norway.
She further added,
“This has been a long journey, with partners Shell, TotalEnergies and Equinor working together to deliver as planned despite the pandemic, supply chain challenges and a strained global economy. The Norwegian authorities have also taken an important role in the realization of this ground-breaking project. I believe that we are helping to create something that can have a major impact on how Europe can meet the Paris goals.”
Anna Mascolo, Executive Vice President of Shell Low Carbon Solutions, praised the joint venture, expressing her satisfaction that the Northern Lights facilities are now prepared to receive CO2 from industrial sites throughout Europe. She emphasized that this development is a vital component of Shell’s integrated offerings for its customers.
TotalEnergies Offers Cutting-Edge Tech Support
Let’s look at what Arnaud Le Foll, Senior Vice-President New Business – Carbon Neutrality at TotalEnergies speaks on the JV.
“We are proud to celebrate today the commissioning of the Northern Lights facilities. It has been a long journey since our partnership with the Norwegian State, Equinor and Shell was established in 2017. This major milestone signals the readiness of the infrastructure to store CO2 and we look forward to receiving the first volumes from hard-to-abate emitters in 2025. This will bring a strong contribution to the decarbonization of European industry.”
TotalEnergies focuses on cutting emissions by applying the best technologies across its operations. The company develops CCS projects to manage excess carbon dioxide. It is competent in project management, gas processing, and geosciences. With the Northern Lights Project in Norway, Aramis in the Netherlands, and Bifrost in Denmark it is actively helping decarbonize Europe.
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