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.

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 decarbonisation solutions.  

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 decarbonisation 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 decarbonisation for many years. This has included organising 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 realisation 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. 

From first-of-a-kind projects to scale-up 

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 decarbonisation is possible, reduce entry barriers and set the path for others to follow suit.