The case in summary The Northern Lights industrial plant in Øygarden, the first commercial plant for carbon storage in the world, was officially opened on Thursday. The plant will receive liquid CO₂ from Norway and Europe, and store it 2,600 meters below the seabed in the North Sea. The facility is part of the Langskip project, the world’s first and most expensive project in carbon capture and storage. The facilities that will capture and deliver CO₂ to the Northern Lights are not yet complete, but the first is expected to start capturing next year. The carbon capture plant at the cement producer Heidelberg Materials in Brevik was actually supposed to be completed in 2024, according to the original agreement. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. On Thursday, the Northern Lights industrial plant at Ågotnes was opened with pomp and splendour. Hundreds from home and abroad were present to experience the historic event. This is the world’s first commercial carbon storage facility. According to the plan, liquid CO₂ (carbon dioxide) will be received here across national borders – from Norway and Europe. The gas will be transported further in pipes for storage in a former extraction reservoir located 2,600 meters below the seabed in the North Sea. This is the facility that will receive the gas and send it on to the depths of the sea. Photo: Ronald Hole Fossåskaret / news In this way, the gas will not reach the atmosphere and contribute to climate change – Today’s ceremony marks an important milestone – one that fills us with pride and hope for the future. This is a proud moment, says Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap). Northern Light is the most expensive single measure against greenhouse gas emissions in Norwegian industry ever. It is part of “Langskip” – the world’s first commercial project in carbon capture and storage. – Norway has now taken a leading position, and we are world leaders on this important topic, says Aasland. Through these pipes, the carbon dioxide will be transported to the North Sea. Photo: Ronald Hole Fossåskaret / news Facts about “Longship” and “Northern Lights” “Longship” is a project in carbon capture and storage, started by the government. The project consists of one or two capture facilities and a storage site for the greenhouse gas CO₂. CO₂ capture, CCS or carbon capture as it is also called, concerns technology that captures, transports and stores CO₂ underground. How it works: Carbon emissions are captured from the air and turned into liquid, before being transported by ship to the storage location. From the storage location, the CO₂ is transported in pipes to geological formations under the seabed. The goal is that the climate-damaging gas does not reach the atmosphere. The storage project is called “Northern Lights” and is owned by Equinor, TotalEnergies and Shell. From a terminal in Øygarden, CO₂ will be pumped via a pipeline to a former extraction well and permanently stored 2,600 meters below the seabed. Northern Light’s phase 1 includes the injection and storage of 37.5 million tonnes of CO₂ in the storage complex. It is planned to inject 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ per year for 25 years. By way of comparison, it has been estimated that a quantity of gas equivalent to 1000 years of Norwegian emissions can potentially be stored in the seabed off the coast of Norway. In 2023, Norwegian greenhouse gas emissions corresponded to 46.6 million tonnes of CO₂. The overall cost estimate for the Northern Lights project is approximately NOK 30 billion. The state’s share is estimated at around NOK 20 billion. Norwegian authorities and Norwegian industry have never before invested such large sums together in a single climate project. The technology is highlighted as important for reaching the climate goals in the Paris Agreement by, among others, the IPCC and the IEA. The Norwegian Environment Agency points to carbon capture as the most important climate measure in Norway. The EU aims for 50 million tonnes of CO₂ to be captured and stored annually by 2030. The strategy is a supplement to the EU’s other measures to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Source: the government; Equinor, Norwegian Environment Agency. The plants that supply the gas are not finished. The plant must be able to receive 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ a year. However, there is one important part that is missing from the project. For the facilities that will capture and deliver CO₂ for storage under the seabed, they have not yet been completed. The tanker that marked today’s opening did not come with CO₂, which is to be pumped down to the seabed. That gas will be used in tanks on land. – We will start filling CO₂ now in the next few days to prepare and cool down the facility, says project director for Northern Lights, Sverre Overå. Project director for Northern Lights, Sverre Overå, is very pleased with the opening. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news The plan is for CO₂ to be captured at Heidelberg Materials’ cement factory in Brevik (formerly Norcem) and Hafslund Oslo Celsio’s waste incineration plant. – When will these facilities be ready? – Things are really moving forward and we will start catching next year, replies an optimistic Aasland. It was a proud group that met the press on Thursday. From left: Minister of Energy Terje Aasland, CEO of Northern Lights Tim Heijn and CEO of Equinor Anders Opedal. In Breivik, the capture facility was supposed to be completed in 2024, but is now planned to start in 2025. In Oslo, the provisional start date is 2029. – You have to consider that this is the first establishment of a completely new chain that will be linked together. What we have built here is the reception facility and the storage section. It must be in place before the catch comes, says Overå. The minister explains that they are waiting for a maturity assessment. – If the project is mature, we will consider following up on the support agreement we have with Oslo municipality. This facility in Brevik will capture and deliver carbon dioxide to Western Norway. But it is far from clear yet. Photo: Lars Tore Endresen / news – Confirmation that it works There is a lot of attention around carbon capture and storage, and whether it can be part of the solutions for today’s climate challenge. Aasland wants competition in the area, technology development, and that the activity is scaled up, so that the costs of capturing and storing carbon dioxide go down. This is what the facility in Øygarden looked like during development in March 2024. Photo: Ronald Hole Fossåskaret / news – I think this project is a very strong confirmation that this is going ahead. It is possible to create a value chain for CO₂. – This is perhaps the most important industrial project right now for our future. Because here it is about showing the world that it is possible to create value chains for carbon capture and storage, he says. Video explaining how Norway will invest in carbon capture and storage Published 26/09/2024, at 22.56
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The world’s first carbon storage facility, Northern Lights, opens in Øygarden – news Vestland
