Northern Lights reaches FID on second stage

Key European CCS project nearly triples in size

Click to learn more. The Northern Lights CCS project will proceed to phase two, nearly tripling sequestration capacity off Norway’s coast. Source: Northern Lights.

Project partners Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies taken FID to progress with phase two of the Northern Lights CCS project off Norway’s coast. The final investment decision follows a commercial agreement between Northern Lights and Swedish energy provider Stockholm Exergi for cross-border transport and storage of up to 900,000 tons of CO₂ annually for 15 years. The expansion will increase the CO₂ transport and storage capacity from 1.5 million to a minimum of 5 million tons per year. The investment made by the partners is about $650 million, including an enabling grant of €131 million from the European Commission.

In late 2023, Yara and Northern Lights agreed to the sequestration of 800,000 tons per year of CO₂ emissions from ammonia production at Yara’s Sluiskil plant in the Netherlands. The existing agreement covers a fraction of the total 1.9 million tons per year of ammonia production capacity at Sluiskil.

The decision to expand our CO₂ transport and storage services represents the next step in building a commercially viable CCS market in Europe. It confirms Northern Lights’ commitment to offer an effective solution for companies to reduce emissions. The investment decision is an important milestone for our company, our customers and industry partners, governments, and regulators. We have jointly been working hard to establish the CCS chain and make a real difference enabling Europe to achieve climate targets.

Tim Heijn, Managing Director of Northern Lights JV, in his organisation’s official press release, 27 Mar 2025

The support from the Norwegian Government and European Commission has been important contributing factors to successfully completing phase 1 and advancing phase 2. That we are now able to progress the Northern Lights’ project second phase on a commercial basis, demonstrates the value of public-private partnerships to reduce risk and attract customers.

Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor, in his organisation’s official press release, 27 Mar 2025

New infrastructure will include additional onshore storage tanks, pumps, a new jetty and injection wells, and more CO₂ transport vessels. The expansion is expected to be completed and ready for operation in the second half of 2028. Stockholm Exergi aims to develop a world-class, full-scale BECCS facility at its existing heat and power biomass plant in Stockholm, producing up to 900,000 tons of biogenic CO₂ emissions per year for sequestration. The first phase of Northern Lights is already completed and ready to receive CO₂ from Norwegian and European industrial emitters. The first CO₂  transport and storage from Heidelberg Materials’ cement factory in Brevik is scheduled for this European summer.

Also this year, Equinor took FID on two of the UK’s first-ever CCS projects, enabling low-emission hydrogen production at industrial sites on the Tees and Humber Rivers in northeast England.