Partners to progress second phase of Northern Lights CCS project

Energy companies TotalEnergies, Equinor and Shell have announced the final investment decision (FID) for the second phase of their carbon dioxide transport and storage project Northern Lights, which will increase capacity from 1.5 million to more than 5 million tonnes of CO2 per year from 2028.

The first phase is completed and ready to receive CO2 from industrial emitters. Operations are expected to start this summer, with the first transportation by ship from Heidelberg Materials’ cement factory at Brevik, Norway and its injection and permanent storage in a reservoir 2.6 km below the seabed, off the coast of Øygarden, western Norway.

The second phase announced today represents an investment of NOK7.5bn (about $700m) and leverages existing onshore and offshore infrastructures. This expansion includes new onshore storage tanks, pumps, a jetty, injection wells and transport vessels, which are all expected to be completed for start-up by the second half of 2028.

The investment in phase two follows the signing of a 15-year commercial agreement between Northern Lights and Swedish district energy provider Stockholm Exergi for the cross-border transport and storage of 900,000 tons of biogenic CO2 emissions annually, starting in 2028.