Energy giants TotalEnergies, Equinor and Shell announced plans to invest NOK 7.5 billion (USD$714 million) to expand the Northern Lights carbon transportation and storage project in Norway, more than tripling the projects capacity from 1.5 million to more than 5 million tons of CO2 per year from 2028.

The Northern Lights project, a joint venture between the companies, was launched in late 2020, as the transport and storage component of Longship, the Norwegian Government’s full-scale carbon capture and storage project. Longship was unveiled in September 2020, with the government describing carbon capture and storage as a prerequisite for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement climate targets.

The announcement marks the Final Investment Decision for the project’s second phase. The partners announced the completion of the first phase in September 2024, building capacity to transport and store 1.5 million tons of CO2 per year, with facilities including a terminal that will receive liquid CO2 captured from industrial sources, a 100 km subsea pipeline to transport the CO2 to an offshore storage location, and subsea injection facilities for permanent storage 2,600 meters below the seabed. Capacity for the first phase is fully booked by customers in Norway and Continental Europe, with initial storage expected to begin this summer.

Huibert Vigeveno, Downstream, Renewables and Energy Solutions Director at Shell, said:

“Carbon capture and storage has a role to play in helping society progress towards net-zero emissions. Northern Lights is a great example of what can be achieved when industry works together with governments and customers to unlock the potential of CCS. Proceeding with phase two of Northern Lights is another key milestone when it comes to CCS and helping our customers in hard-to-abate sectors to decarbonise.”

The decision to move forward on the second phase of the project follows the signing of a 15-year commercial agreement between Northern Lights and Swedish energy provider Stockholm Exergi for the storage of 900,000 tonnes biogenic CO2 emissions per year for 15 years starting from 2028.

Stockholm Exergi is planning to build a bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) facility at its bio-cogeneration plant at Värtan, Stockholm, bringing together a bioenergy-based combined heat and power plant fueled by residues from forestry, sawmill and pulp and paper production, with a carbon capture and storage process that captures CO2 in the plant’s flue gases, and cools and compresses it into liquid form, for transport and permanent storage. The company announced its final investment decision to proceed with the $1.3 billion project on Thursday. The facility has already attracted large-scale carbon removal offtake agreements with Microsoft and carbon removal coalition Frontier on behalf of buyers including Alphabet, Meta, JPMorgan Chase, and H&M, among others.

Anders Egelrud, CEO of Stockholm Exergi, said:

“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.”

The expansion of Northern Lights will include new onshore storage tanks, pumps, a jetty, injection wells and transport vessels. The expansion is expected to be completed for a start-up by the second half of 2028.

Nicolas Terraz, President Exploration & Production of TotalEnergies, said:

“I am delighted of the launch of Northern Lights phase 2, which represents a significant step forward for the CCS industry. Northern Lights can thus provide a concrete solution for the hard-to-abate industrial emitters in Europe, so that they can reduce their CO2 emissions and thereby secure their businesses’ sustainability.”