Norway: Northern Lights Facilities Completed and Ready to Store CO2

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Paris, September 26, 2024 – TotalEnergies and its partners, Equinor and Shell, announce the completion of the CO₂ receiving and storage facilities of Northern Lights Joint-Venture in Norway. The facilities consist of a terminal that will receive CO₂ cargos, a 100 km subsea pipeline for CO₂ transportation to the offshore storage location, and subsea injection facilities for safe and permanent CO₂ storage in a reservoir 2,600 meters below the seabed. This milestone is crucial for advancing large-scale carbon capture solutions globally.

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Northern Lights is now ready to receive and permanently store CO₂ from European industries, with first CO₂ injection expected in 2025. Developing CO₂ transportation and storage services is a pivotal step toward reducing emissions and decarbonizing European industries.

Northern Lights is the world’s first commercial CO₂ transportation and storage project. The first phase of the project, supported by the Norwegian government, has a capacity of 1.5 Mt CO₂ per year, which has been fully booked by customers in Norway and Continental Europe. Plans for a second phase aim to expand capacity to over 5 Mt CO₂ annually.

“Today’s ceremony marks a significant milestone - one that fills us with great pride and hope for the future. This is a proud moment not just for Northern Lights as a company, but for Norway and for the advancement of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) worldwide,” says Terje Aasland, Norwegian Minister of Energy.

“Today we achieved an important milestone on our journey to demonstrate CCS as a viable option to help achieve climate goals. The whole world is looking to Norway to learn about CCS. Since construction started, we have welcomed more than 10,000 visitors from over 50 countries. This shows the global interest in CCS technologies as a solution for reducing carbon emissions,” said Tim Heijn, Managing Director of Northern Lights JV.

“We are proud to celebrate today the commissioning of the Northern Lights facilities. This milestone signals the readiness of the infrastructure to store CO₂, and we look forward to receiving the first volumes from hard-to-abate emitters in 2025,” said Arnaud Le Foll, Senior Vice-President New Business - Carbon Neutrality at TotalEnergies.

“This is an exciting day for both Equinor, Northern Lights Joint Venture and our partners Shell and TotalEnergies. Northern Lights represents a major advancement in establishing a Carbon Capture and Storage value-chain in Europe,” says Grete Tveit, Senior Vice President Low Carbon Solutions at Equinor.

“Carbon capture and storage has a vital role to play in helping society achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Alongside efforts to avoid and reduce emissions, CCS will be an essential tool for decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries,” said Anna Mascolo, Executive Vice President, Shell Low Carbon Solutions.

About Northern Lights

Northern Lights, owned in equal shares by TotalEnergies, Equinor, and Shell, is developing the world’s first cross-border CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure. This project is critical for reducing industrial emissions across Europe and builds on decades of expertise in CO₂ storage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Northern Lights will transport liquefied CO₂ from capture sites to a terminal in Norway, where it will be piped for permanent storage.

About TotalEnergies and Carbon Storage

TotalEnergies’ focus is on first avoiding emissions, then reducing them with cutting-edge technology. For residual emissions, TotalEnergies is advancing large-scale carbon storage projects, such as Northern Lights, to help decarbonize European industry.

About TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies is a global integrated energy company that produces and markets a range of energy sources including oil, natural gas, and renewables. Its commitment to providing more sustainable energy solutions is at the heart of its strategy.