A great leap towards a scaled European market for CCS: Northern Lights expands storage capacity, will store CO₂ from Stockholm  

In a decisive push for CCS deployment in Europe, CO₂ storage operator Northern Lights announced on March 27 that it will increase its annual storage capacity from 1.5 to 5 million tonnes of CO₂ by 2028. This step follows a major announcement by Stockholm Exergi: The Swedish energy company will invest in biogenic CO₂ capture at Värtaverket for storage on the Norwegian continental shelf.

«When done right and following stringent sustainability criteria for biomass sourcing, bio-CCS has significant potential to bring about negative emissions and help meet climate goals. This decision is another milestone in Nordic climate cooperation.»

Clara Axblad

Nordics Manager

«The FID from March 27 is the culmination of decades of hard work from several actors across countries and sectors, we are proud to count Bellona amongst those actors. This development is proof of a burgeoning market for CCS at scale. Now we must ensure that we safeguard the further development and that the market is well-functioning across jurisdictions.»

Jonas Helseth

Executive Director, Bellona Europa

Northern Lights, initially partnering with Norwegian projects of cement producer Heidelberg Materials and waste incinerator Celsio, has also made investment decisions possible for capture projects beyond Norway. The collaboration now spans emitters in three EU countries: Yara in the Netherlands, Ørsted in Denmark, and most recently Stockholm Exergi in Sweden, confirming the growing demand for decarbonization solutions.  

«The final investment decisions of Northern Lights and Stockholm Exergi will set a precedent and translate years of research and pilot initiatives into substantial, scalable actions. They send a critical signal for establishing a CO2 market in Europe»

Behnam Lot

Policy Advisor, Industrial Decarbonisation

Bellona has been an early force in the adoption of CCS technologies, championing this cause since 1996 and pushing for net negative emissions already back in 2008. Over the years, Bellona has been instrumental in leading research, advocacy and fostering dialogue among emitters, decision-makers, infrastructure providers, and civil society. The Longship project encompassing the Northern Lights storage site followed a long-lasting Bellona campaign for a multi-source CO₂ storage infrastructure. In 2015, a Bellona report proposed the development of a CO₂ capture cluster and a storage hub on Norway’s western coast to serve European decarbonization efforts. Bellona supported the Northern Lights project since the very beginning, informing public authorities about its potential benefits. 

A collaboration, decades in the making 

These final investment decisions take place almost 20 years after Bellona’s Frederic Hauge first visited Värtaverket to check out a CO₂ capture demo facility.  As Sweden has yet to develop CO₂ storage on its own territory, Bellona has campaigned to enable Norway-Sweden cooperation on industrial decarbonization for many years. This has included organizing events in the Swedish parliament as well as in Oslo to create a common understanding of the challenges and opportunities. In 2019, Bellona co-wrote a report on CCS with the cities of Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo.  The purpose was to show how cities can reduce their emissions directly and indirectly with the help of CCS.  

Bellona has advocated for stronger Nordic cooperation on bio-CCS and its potential for negative emissions, as presented in a 2018 report. The realization of the Beccs Stockholm project, which Bellona has engaged with since its inception, is an important and much anticipated step towards unlocking this potential. When done right and following stringent sustainability criteria for biomass sourcing, bio-CCS has significant potential to bring about negative emissions and help meet climate goals. 

«Current funding frameworks and available CO₂ infrastructure are not sufficient for immediate mass deployment of these technologies. But the two CCS investment decisions in Oslo and Stockholm this year show  crucial progress.»

Olav Øye

Senior adviser for Climate and Industry

Photo: Frederic Hauge visits CO₂ capture demonstration facility at Värtaverket in Stockholm in 2007.

«These strategic commitments by Northern Lights and Stockholm Exergi build trust and confidence in CCS as a credible and essential climate measure and will serve as catalysts on Europe’s journey towards a carbon-neutral future.»

Hanna Biro

Policy Manager, Just Industrial Transition & CCS

First-mover projects like Northern Lights and Stockholm Exergi’s carbon capture operation are critical in the development and deployment of climate technologies, as laid on in our brief First foot forward: The importance of CCS first-mover projects for accelerating the industrial green transition. These projects serve as proof for the economic, and operational viability of capturing, transporting, and sequestering CO₂. They foster a collaborative ecosystem that spans different industries and borders, and help build confidence among emitters, investors, regulators, and the public.  

The Longship and Northern Lights projects demonstrate that near-term industrial decarbonization is possible, reduce entry barriers and set the path for others to follow suit.

«The next big step for the EU and Norway is to implement the Net Zero Industry Act and its obligation on oil and gas producers to provide CO₂ storage for industrial emitters across the continent.»

Olav Øye

Senior adviser for Climate and Industry

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