On September 2, 2025, a milestone was reached in the global fight against climate change as Shell, TotalEnergies, and Equinor jointly announced the launch of the world’s first fully operational cross-border commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) service. This pioneering initiative, known as the Northern Lights project, signals a new era for industrial decarbonization in Europe, offering hope to sectors long considered too difficult to clean up.
The Northern Lights project is the centerpiece of Norway’s ambitious climate strategy, specifically designed to help achieve the net zero emissions target by 2050 as set out in the Paris Agreement. According to BizClik Media, the project involves transporting captured carbon dioxide (CO₂) through a 100-kilometre pipeline into the Aurora reservoir, which lies some 26,000 metres beneath the seabed in the Norwegian North Sea. The CO₂, sourced from industrial sites across Norway, is stored securely underground, preventing it from entering the atmosphere and contributing to global warming.
Anna Mascolo, Executive Vice President for Low Carbon Solutions at Shell, shared her excitement about the achievement, stating, “Northern Lights has just made history – Shell's joint venture CCS project with Equinor and TotalEnergies is now the world’s first fully operational scheme to offer cross-border CO₂ transport and storage as a commercial service, with the first volumes now safely stored.”
The process itself is a marvel of modern engineering and logistics. CO₂ is first captured at industrial facilities such as Heidelberg Materials’ cement production site in Brevik and Hafslund Celsio’s waste-to-energy plant. From there, the liquefied gas is loaded onto specially designed vessels, each capable of transporting 7,500 cubic metres of CO₂ per journey. These ships then deliver their cargo to the Northern Lights onshore terminal in Øygarden, where the gas is unloaded into storage tanks. Finally, it is pumped through the subsea pipeline to its permanent home beneath the sea floor.
Michel Ziad Hajjar, Managing Director at TotalEnergies, described the significance of this logistical feat: “Happy to announce that the first CO₂ volumes were successfully transported by vessel from Heidelberg Materials’ cement factory in Brevik, Norway to Northern Lights’ facilities in Øygarden. This represents a new phase for the CCS industry in Europe, offering hard-to-abate sectors a credible and tangible way to reduce CO₂ emissions.”
The origins of Northern Lights can be traced back to 2016, when the Norwegian government began exploring the feasibility of a comprehensive CCS value chain. Years of study and investment followed, culminating in the completion of phase one in 2024. This initial phase saw the construction of a reception and storage facility with a capacity to handle 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ per year. The facility includes a terminal for receiving carbonate shipments, a 100-kilometre subsea pipeline, and advanced injection systems to ensure the safe storage of carbon dioxide deep beneath the ocean.
As BizClik Media and other industry sources report, Northern Lights is a key pillar of the Norwegian government-backed Longship project, which aims to commercialize CCS as a practical tool for decarbonizing sectors like cement, steel, and chemicals—industries where emissions reductions have proven particularly challenging. The project’s first phase is already fully contracted by a group of pioneering customers from Norway and continental Europe, including Heidelberg Materials, Hafslund Celsio, Yara (Netherlands), Ørsted (Denmark), and Stockholm Exergi (Sweden).
Hege Skryseth, Executive Vice President at Equinor, highlighted the broader implications of the project: “The achievement is not only a technological breakthrough, but also a testament to years of dedication and collaboration across Equinor and with external partners. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) can capture up to 90% of CO₂ emissions from fossil fuel use in electricity generation and industrial processes, providing a crucial method for climate change mitigation.”
CCS technology is not new, but its widespread commercial deployment has long been elusive. For over 45 years, CCS has operated safely at commercial scale, but until now, most projects have been limited in scope and geography. The Northern Lights project changes that by establishing an open-access, cross-border CO₂ transport and storage service, enabling emitters across Europe to decarbonize without building their own infrastructure. This model, as BizClik Media points out, creates a new value chain for carbon management and sets a precedent for future projects worldwide.
Phase two of Northern Lights, officially approved in March 2025 with funding from the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility, will boost the project’s storage capacity to over 5 million tonnes of CO₂ annually by 2028. The expansion includes the construction of nine new onshore storage tanks, a new loading platform, and additional injection gasholds. The project partners—Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies—have committed NOK 7.5 billion (about US$744 million) to this next phase. Looking even further ahead, Equinor aims to expand its total CO₂ storage capacity to between 30 and 50 million tonnes per year by 2035, leveraging Northern Lights and similar initiatives in Europe and the United States.
The project’s immediate goal is to capture 400,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year from the Heidelberg Materials cement factory, with plans to incorporate emissions from Denmark and the Netherlands by 2026. Notably, Stockholm Exergi, a Swedish energy provider, has committed to storing up to 900,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, underscoring the growing appetite for CCS technology across Europe. By 2028, the project expects to reach its expanded annual storage target, helping to cement Northern Lights’ role as a cornerstone of European climate strategy.
Political and financial backing has been crucial to Northern Lights’ success. The Norwegian government and the European Union have both provided significant support, recognizing the importance of CCS in achieving climate targets. The project also builds on Norway’s extensive experience with offshore oil and gas operations, particularly geological storage on the Norwegian continental shelf—where more than 25 years of safe CO₂ storage have paved the way for this new chapter.
Arnaud Le Foll, Senior Vice President of New Business - Carbon Neutrality at TotalEnergies, summed up the breakthrough: “With the start of Northern Lights operations, we are entering a new phase for the CCS sector in Europe. This industry now moves from concept to reality, offering hard-to-abate sectors a credible and tangible pathway to reduce CO₂ emissions.”
As governments and industries across the globe search for ways to meet ambitious climate goals, the Northern Lights project stands out as a beacon of what’s possible when technological expertise, political will, and commercial viability align. With its scalable model and open-access approach, it offers a glimpse into a future where even the most stubborn emissions can be tackled head-on—and where Europe, led by Norway and its partners, takes a decisive leadership role in global carbon management solutions.
For those watching the climate crisis unfold, the safe storage of the first volumes of CO₂ under the North Sea marks not just a technical achievement, but a real, tangible step toward a more sustainable future.
