Norway Switches on Northern Lights: Europe’s Landmark CCS Project Takes Flight

Image: The Northern Lights carbon storage facility in Norway | Credit: Torstein Lund Eik / Equinor

The first volumes of carbon dioxide have now been injected deep underground and successfully stored in a reservoir more than two and a half kilometres beneath the seabed. This marks the launch of the world’s very first open-access transport and storage facility for CO₂, a milestone that could significantly reduce Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The CO₂ arrives by ship from Heidelberg Materials’ cement factory in Brevik. Once offloaded, it travels through a one-hundred-kilometre pipeline before being injected into the Aurora reservoir, located far below the North Sea. The Northern Lights Joint Venture, which Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies equally own, is behind this effort. Equinor has overseen construction of both the onshore receiving terminal at Øygarden and the offshore injection facilities, and will also manage day-to-day operations at the plant.

“With CO2 safely stored below the seabed, we mark a major milestone. This demonstrates the viability of carbon capture, transport, and storage as a scalable industry. With the support from the Norwegian government and in close collaboration with our partners, we have successfully transformed this project from concept to reality,” says the CEO of Equinor, Anders Opedal.

“Lifting new value chains like CO2 capture, transport, and storage requires collaboration and effort across the value chain - from governments, industry, and customers. With Northern Lights in operation, we have proven that this is possible. Now, we look forward to leading safe and efficient operations on behalf of the Northern Lights partnership and use this as a stepping stone for the further development of CCS in Europe,” says Irene Rummelhoff, Executive Vice President of MMP in Equinor.

This first stage of development, which is now complete, has the capacity to store 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ each year. That entire capacity has already been booked.

Looking ahead, the project’s partners have given the green light for a second phase. This expansion will lift the facility’s capacity to at least five million tonnes per year. A key enabler of this decision was a deal with Stockholm Exergi to transport and store up to 900,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually. Additional support was provided through a grant from the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy programme, which offered substantial funding for the scale-up.

Phase two is already moving forward. New onshore tanks have been delivered to Øygarden, a jetty is under construction, and additional injection wells are being developed. By building on the existing infrastructure, Northern Lights is positioning itself as a cornerstone of Europe’s growing carbon capture and storage network.

Equinor is no stranger to this field. The company is already one of the largest developers of carbon capture and storage worldwide, and it has set an ambitious target of handling between thirty and fifty million tonnes of CO₂ annually by 2035. Reaching that goal will require more than technical expertise; it depends on supportive policy frameworks and strong collaboration among governments, industry leaders, regulators, and customers.

Northern Lights itself is registered as a General Partnership with Shared Liability, with Equinor, TotalEnergies, and Shell sharing ownership equally. The initiative is a key part of Longship, Norway’s full-scale carbon capture and storage programme. Under this model, captured CO₂ is liquefied at customer sites, shipped to Øygarden, and then sent by pipeline to the storage reservoir far beneath the seabed.

Norway’s government has provided significant financial backing, covering approximately 80 per cent of the costs for Phase One. The European Union has also stepped in, awarding 131 million euros through the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy in mid-2024 to support the second phase.

The Øygarden site itself is extensive. It includes a receiving terminal, multiple storage tanks, a dedicated pipeline, and subsea installations. Equinor, acting as Technical Service Provider, led the design and construction and will continue to manage operations. Meanwhile, the Oseberg Field Centre holds responsibility for well integrity and monitoring in the reservoir, ensuring safety and long-term reliability.

The Northern Lights project is more than a technical achievement. It represents a crucial piece of Europe’s broader climate strategy, opening a pathway for industries across the continent to capture emissions at the source and store them safely out of the atmosphere.