Northern Lights, the first major carbon capture and storage project in Norway

Along the Norwegian coast, Northern Lights is the first cross-border value chain project to offer European industrial companies a solution for safely and permanently storing their CO₂ emissions 2600 meters under the seabed. Operational from 2024, the Phase 1 installations are scheduled to come on stream in 2024, with the ability to handle 1.5 million tons of CO₂ per year. Our ambition is to extend to 5 million tons by 2026. This project, the first of its kind worldwide, is a major milestone in the decarbonization of heavy industry in Europe. 

In Norway, TotalEnergies, together with Equinor and Shell, has launched the first large-scale CO₂ transport and storage project. Approved by the Norwegian government in 2020 and designated as a Project of Common Interest (PCI¹) by the European Union, Northern Lights is currently under construction and will eventually enable industrial emitters in Norway and elsewhere in Europe to reduce their CO₂ emissions.

In December 2022, Northern Lights received the first 7 of 12 onshore tanks for temporary CO₂ storage. The drilling operations for the wells have also recently been completed and the official ceremony to launch the construction of the future vessels occurred on November 21 at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. Ltd. in China.

Carbon capture and storage operations are scheduled to begin in 2024. The facility is currently under construction and will allow Northern Lights to offer a safe and reliable shipping and storage service to industrial emitters across Europe. With growing interest from industrial sectors in Europe, additional shipping and storage capacity will be developed as demand increases.

¹ Defined as key infrastructure projects to complete the European energy market in order to help the EU achieve its energy and climate policy goals

A first commercial agreement signed

Several companies are interested in using Northern Lights to decarbonize their operations. The first commercial agreement was signed in August 2022 with Yara. Starting in 2025, 800,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year will be captured, compressed and liquefied in the Netherlands, then transported to the Northern Lights site, where it will be permanently sequestered in geological layers buried about 2,600 meters below the seabed, off Øygarden in the Norwegian North Sea.

An important step for the decarbonization of heavy industry in Europe

This project, the first of its kind worldwide, is a major milestone in the decarbonization of heavy industry in Europe, paving the way for international CO₂ transport and storage as a service. It sets a new standard for European industrial companies looking to use Northern Lights solutions as part of their decarbonization strategies.

Since the agreement was signed, several companies are interested in using Northern Lights to decarbonize their operations. The first commercial agreement was signed in August 2022 with Yara. Starting in 2025, 800,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year will be captured, compressed and liquefied in the Netherlands, then transported to the Northern Lights site, where it will be permanently sequestered in geological layers buried about 2,600 meters below the seabed, off Øygarden in the Norwegian North Sea.

Ultimately, the Company's goal is to develop a CO₂ storage capacity of more than 10 million tons per year by 2030, notably through large-scale industrial projects such as Northern Lights in Norway and Aramis in the Netherlands. All these projects will allow the Company to reduce its own emissions as well as those of its customers, in line with our ambition to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, together with society.

The Northern Lights project in a few dates