Norway’s $2.8 billion full-scale carbon capture transport and storage project close to crossing the finish line

The Norwegian government has made room in its 2025 budget for a multimillion-dollar investment destined to be injected into its carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, described as a full-scale CO2 capture, transport, and storage development in line with the country’s international climate agreements.

While disclosing that its Longship project is nearing completion, the Norwegian government highlighted that it intends to continue its investment in the project, thus, it proposed an allocation of 2.1 billion NOK or $197.3 million for this development in the state budget for 2025. A large part of this full-scale CCS project is anticipated to be completed next year.

Terje Aasland, Norway’s Minister of Energy, commented: “With Longship, Europe’s first full-scale value chain for CO₂ management will be in operation in 2025. It is inspiring to now see the results from Norway’s long-term commitment to CO₂ management. Heidelberg Materials’ CO₂ capture project is close to finished, and two weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the start of phase one of the Northern Lights project at the storage terminal in Øygarden.”

The Ministry of Energy plans to follow up on Longship work next year to realize gains from the project. Heidelberg Materials is expected to start capturing CO₂ from the cement factory in Brevik in 2025, while the transport and storage project for Northern Lights in Øygarden is ready to receive CO₂ from the fall of 2024.

Northern Lights is the transport and storage component of Norway’s Longship project. The official opening ceremony of the CO2 transport and storage facility in Øygarden, near Bergen, was conducted by the Norwegian Minister of Energy on September 26, signaling the facility’s readiness to receive and store CO2.

“When Norway is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the obligations in the Paris Agreement, CO₂ management can play a key role. That is why it has been absolutely necessary for government aid to a new industry and to technology that will be important to readjust the economy towards a low-emission society by 2050,” pointed out Aasland.

According to the Norwegian authorities, Longship is a central part of the government’s policy for CO₂ management and a part of the country’s contribution to developing the necessary climate technologies. With a total cost-allocation of approximately 30 billion NOK or $2.82 billion, the country’s share of the costs is estimated at around 20 billion NOK or about  $1.88 billion.

Moreover, the Norwegian ministry explains that Hafslund Oslo Celsio has put its CO₂ capture project on hold to reduce costs and submitted a new project basis which will be assessed during the fall of 2024.

“The project basis must be quality assured before the Ministry decides whether the project should be continued. The government will revert to the Norwegian Parliament in an appropriate manner if the government believes there is a need for any changes to the grant agreement,”  explained Norway’s Ministry of Energy.

The Longship project involves industrial partners Heidelberg Materials, Hafslund Celsio, and the Northern Lights consortium. The plan is for CO₂ from the capture facilities of Heidelberg Materials and Hafslund Celsio to be transported by ship to a reception facility near Bergen. From there, it will be conveyed via pipeline for permanent storage in a reservoir 2,600 meters below the seabed.

The project is said to reflect the Norwegian government’s ambition to develop a full-scale CCS value chain in Norway, demonstrating the potential of this decarbonization approach. Longship, with captured CO2 from Brevik and Northern Lights’ transport and storage, will be operational in 2025.

Northern Lights will also transport and store up to 800,000 tons of CO2 annually from Yara’s ammonia and fertilizer plant in Sluiskil, Netherlands – in addition to 430,000 tons of biogenic CO2 per year from Ørsted’s two power plants in Denmark, starting in 2026.

This will utilize the overcapacity within the Northern Lights infrastructure already established through Longship, which is seen as one of the world’s first CCS projects developing infrastructure with the capacity to store significant amounts of CO₂ from multiple countries.

With Longship, Norway is said to be at the forefront of developing a technology that could be crucial in achieving the climate goals.