Øygarden, Norway | August 25, 2025 – The maritime and energy sectors have reached a historic turning point as Northern Lights JV officially commenced operations, successfully injecting and storing its first volumes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) beneath the Norwegian North Sea.
This milestone marks the birth of the world’s first commercial, cross-border carbon capture and storage (CCS) service, transforming CO₂ from a waste product into a tradable maritime commodity.
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From Pipeline to Reservoir
The inaugural CO₂ volumes were transported through a 100-kilometre subsea pipeline and injected into the Aurora reservoir, located 2,600 meters below the seabed. This successful operation confirms that the project’s complex infrastructure—comprising specialized vessels, receiving terminals, and subsea wells—is now fully mission-ready.
“We have reached an exciting milestone,” said Tim Heijn, Managing Director of Northern Lights JV. “We now injected and stored the very first CO₂ safely in the reservoir. Our ships, facilities and wells are now in operation.”
A New Era for Specialized Shipping
For the bunkering and maritime industry, the success of Northern Lights signifies more than just environmental progress; it heralds the arrival of a new class of specialized vessels. The project utilizes custom-built liquefied CO₂ – LCO₂ carriers that feature:
- LNG-powered engines to minimize operational footprint.
- Wind-assisted rotor sails and air lubrication systems for enhanced efficiency.
- High-pressure cargo tanks designed to maintain CO₂ in a liquid state during transit.
As Northern Lights begins transporting volumes from Norway for the remainder of 2025, the fleet is expected to expand. Cargoes from Denmark and the Netherlands are slated to join the network in 2026, further integrating European industrial hubs.
Expansion and Investment
The joint venture, owned by energy majors Equinor, TotalEnergies, and Shell, is already looking beyond its initial phase. In March 2025, a final investment decision was made to scale capacity from 1.5 million tonnes to a minimum of 5 million tonnes of CO₂ per year.
This expansion, supported by a grant from the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy (CEF Energy), was catalyzed by a landmark commercial agreement with Stockholm Exergi. To meet this increased demand, Northern Lights will invest in:
- Additional onshore storage tanks and pumps.
- A new jetty for increased vessel throughput.
- More dedicated CO₂ transport ships.
About Northern Lights
Northern Lights offers CO₂ transport and storage as a service. Our mission is to enable the reduction and removal of industrial emissions in Europe. Liquefied CO₂ from capture sites is shipped to our onshore receiving terminal in western Norway, before being transported by pipeline for permanent storage in a reservoir 2,600 meters under the seabed. Northern Lights is the first company to offer commercial CCS services.
The first phase of Northern Lights is part of Longship, the Norwegian Government’s full-scale carbon capture and storage project. Northern Lights will transport and store CO₂ from two Norwegian industries: Heidelberg Materials’ cement factory in Brevik and the Hafslund Celsio waste-to-energy plant in Oslo. In addition, the Northern Lights JV has signed commercial agreements with Yara in the Netherlands, Ørsted in Denmark, and Stockholm Exergi in Sweden.
Source: Northern Lights JV