Northern Lights, the world’s first cross-border CO₂ transport and storage project open to third-party industry, will increase its annual storage capacity from 1.5 million tonnes to more than 5 million tonnes by 2028 following a Final Investment Decision taken in March 2025.

Owned equally by TotalEnergies, Equinor, and Shell, the expansion reflects growing commercial demand for industrial carbon storage as European climate policies tighten and heavy industries seek solutions for residual emissions.

 

From Initial Infrastructure To Scaled Platform

 

The first phase of Northern Lights established a fully integrated carbon logistics system. A purpose-built onshore terminal receives liquefied CO₂ transported by ship from industrial sites. The captured carbon is then sent through a 100-kilometer subsea pipeline to an offshore storage site, where it is injected 2,600 meters beneath the seabed into a geological reservoir.

The initial 1.5 million tonne annual capacity facility was completed in 2024, with operations scheduled to begin in summer 2025 when the first shipment arrives from Heidelberg Materials’ cement plant in Brevik, Norway.

The project was designed as shared infrastructure from the outset, enabling multiple industrial customers across Europe to access permanent storage capacity.

 

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Long-Term Contracts Underpin Expansion

 

The second phase leverages existing assets while adding new storage tanks, pumps, injection wells, transport vessels, and expanded jetty infrastructure to lift capacity to more than 5 million tonnes per year starting in 2028.

A key driver of the expansion is long-term commercial demand. In parallel with the investment decision, Northern Lights signed a 15-year agreement with Stockholm Exergi covering 900,000 tonnes of biogenic CO₂ annually. The agreement strengthens the role of cross-border carbon transport and storage in Europe’s emerging carbon removal market.

Stockholm Exergi becomes the fifth confirmed customer, joining Heidelberg Materials, Celsio, Yara, and Ørsted. Discussions with additional European industrial players are ongoing to commercialize the remaining capacity.

The inclusion of biogenic CO₂ signals a broader shift toward negative emissions infrastructure as voluntary and compliance carbon markets mature.

 

Norway’s Strategic Position In European Decarbonization

 

Northern Lights supports Norway’s ambition to position itself as a regional CO₂ storage hub under a regulatory framework aligned with EU climate objectives. The project complements broader European efforts to develop cross-border carbon capture and storage networks under industrial decarbonization strategies.

For heavy industries such as cement, chemicals, and waste-to-energy, geological storage remains one of the few viable pathways to address residual emissions that cannot be eliminated through electrification or efficiency improvements.

For the energy majors backing the project, Northern Lights represents an opportunity to apply large-scale project management, subsurface expertise, and gas processing capabilities to low-carbon infrastructure.

 

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Building Europe’s Carbon Logistics Market

 

As capacity expands toward 5 million tonnes annually, Northern Lights moves from pilot infrastructure to a scalable platform anchoring Europe’s industrial carbon market. Long-term contracts are beginning to de-risk revenue streams, while cross-border CO₂ shipments are becoming operationally normalized under evolving regulatory regimes.

The expansion underscores a broader reality in Europe’s climate transition: decarbonization of heavy industry will require not only capture technologies but also robust transport and permanent storage infrastructure.

With demand for compliant carbon management rising, the focus is shifting from proof of concept to rapid scaling. Northern Lights’ next phase reflects that shift, positioning Norway at the center of Europe’s developing carbon storage ecosystem.