Northern Lights, a joint venture owned by Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, signed the world’s first commercial agreement on cross-border carbon transportation and storage with Yara, an ammonia and fertilizer plant in the Netherlands.
The agreement was signed during the ONS 2022 energy conference in Norway.
From early 2025, 800,000 tons of carbon per year will be captured, compressed, and liquefied in the Netherlands and then transported to the Northern Lights site to be permanently stored in geological layers some 2,600 meters under the seabed off the coast of Oygarden, in Norway.
This agreement, the first of its kind worldwide, is a major milestone in the decarbonization of heavy industry in Europe, paving the way for international carbon transport and storage as a service. It sets a new standard for European industrial companies looking to use Northern Lights solutions as part of their decarbonization strategies.
"Developing CO2 transportation and storage services is crucial for decarbonizing European industry: we are pleased to welcome Yara as the first commercial partner for Northern Lights, which will help support its decarbonization strategy," said Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies.
"TotalEnergies aims to develop a CO2 storage capacity of more than 10 million tons per year by 2030, both for its own facilities and for its customers, in line with its ambition to get to net zero by 2050, together with society," he added.
- Northern Lights Project
Northern Lights is designed to give European industrial companies a solution for safely and permanently storing their carbon emissions underground.
The Phase 1 installations are scheduled to come on stream in 2024, with the ability to handle 1.5 million tons of carbon per year.
Several industries have shown a growing interest in these services.
As a result, additional capacity will be developed to accommodate rising demand, up to 5 million tons per year. Northern Lights is owned in equal shares by TotalEnergies, Equinor, and Shell.
By Murat Temizer in Stavanger, Norway
Anadolu Agency
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