Northern Lights, the joint venture between Equinor, TotalEnergies, and Shell, has reached a major milestone by injecting its first volumes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into an offshore storage site in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
The CO₂ was transported through a 100-kilometer pipeline and injected into the Aurora reservoir, located 2,600 meters beneath the seabed.
“Our ships, facilities, and wells are now in operation,” said Managing Director Tim Haines.
First Commercial CO₂ Storage Project
Northern Lights is the world’s first commercial provider of CO₂ transport and storage services. Its initial facilities are part of Norway’s large-scale Longship initiative for carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The project’s first customers include:
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Heidelberg Materials cement plant in Brevik,
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Hafslund Celsio waste-to-energy plant in Oslo,
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as well as commercial agreements with Yara (Netherlands), Ørsted (Denmark), and Stockholm Exergi (Sweden).
Until the end of 2025, the JV will handle CO₂ from Norwegian sources, with deliveries from Denmark and the Netherlands expected to begin in 2026.
Expansion Plans
In March 2025, Northern Lights made a final investment decision (FID) to expand capacity from 1.5 million tons per year to at least 5 million tons.
The expansion will include:
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new onshore storage tanks,
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pumping systems,
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an additional jetty,
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injection wells,
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and specialized CO₂ carriers.
The project is co-funded under the European Connecting Europe Facility for Energy (CEF Energy) program.
Industry Significance
Northern Lights marks the beginning of a new era in carbon capture and storage (CCS), offering commercial-scale solutions to reduce emissions in Europe. It represents an important step toward achieving EU climate goals and supporting the transition to a low-carbon energy future.
