The expansion of Northern Lights will increase the transport and storage capacity from 1.5 million to a minimum of 5 million tonnes of CO2 per year, enabling further reduction and removal of European industrial CO2 emissions. The investment decision to expand capacity follows a commercial agreement with the Swedish energy provider, Stockholm Exergi, for cross-border transport and storage of up to 900,000 tonnes of biogenic CO2 annually.
Commercially based investment
The investment made by the Northern Lights JV owners Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies is 7.5 billion NOK. This includes the enabling grant of €131 million from the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy (CEF Energy) funding scheme, approved by the European Commission in June 2024.
“The decision to expand our CO2 transport and storage services represents the next step in building a commercially viable CCS market in Europe. It confirms Northern Lights’ commitment to offer an effective solution for companies to reduce emissions. The investment decision is an important milestone for our company, our customers and industry partners, governments, and regulators. We have jointly been working hard to establish the CCS chain and make a real difference enabling Europe to achieve climate targets”, says Tim Heijn, Managing Director of Northern Lights JV.
“This is a major step in the further development of a large-scale carbon capture, transportation and storage value chain. The support from the Norwegian Government and European Commission has been important contributing factors to successfully completing phase 1 and advancing phase 2. That we are now able to progress the Northern Lights’ project second phase on a commercial basis, demonstrates the value of public-private partnerships to reduce risk and attract customers”, says Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor.
Cross-border transport and storage agreement with Stockholm Exergi
In relation to the expansion investment decision, Northern Lights today announces the signing of a commercial cross-border transport and storage agreement with the Swedish district energy provider Stockholm Exergi to store up to 900,000 tonnes biogenic CO2 emissions per year for 15 years starting from 2028 as part of the large-scale Bio-Energy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) project. Stockholm Exergi’s goal is to create a world-class, full-scale BECCS facility at their existing heat and power biomass plant in the heart of Stockholm.
“I am very pleased that Northern Lights has decided to move forward with its project. This is a crucial step in our collaboration. Permanent carbon storage will play a key role in achieving the climate targets. Together, we are laying the foundation for what could become an entirely new industry – one with the potential to make the Nordics and Europe global leaders in this field,” says Anders Egelrud, CEO of Stockholm Exergi.
Northern Lights ready to start operations in 2025
The first phase development of Northern Lights is completed and ready to receive CO2 from Norwegian and European industrial emitters. Operations are scheduled to start this summer, with the first CO2 transport and storage from Heidelberg Materials’ cement factory in Brevik, as part of the Longship project by the Norwegian government.
