Longship: Norway’s pioneering CCS project sets a new course for Europe

Morten Henriksen’s words reflect the ambition driving this effort: to build infrastructure that supports deep emissions reductions across Europe.

Editor’s note: Mr Henriksen has stepped down from his position at Gassnova and will assume the position of CEO of Nortura in March 2026.

Longship is creating Europe’s first end‑to‑end value chain for carbon capture and storage (CCS), covering CO₂ capture, transport and permanent offshore storage. This coordinated system demonstrates how industrial emissions can be managed on a scale that makes a measurable impact.

As part of the Longship project, a capture facility was constructed at Heidelberg Materials’ cement plant in Brevik on the southeastern coast of Norway, with a capacity of some 400 000 metric tons of CO₂ annually. The facility was inaugurated in June 2025 and the first CO₂ was captured, liquefied and transported to the Northern Lights facility in Øygarden on the western coast of Norway that same month. The liquefied CO₂ was then injected and successfully stored in the reservoir in August 2025.

The CCS project at the Klemetsrud waste‑to‑energy plant in Oslo – led by Hafslund Oslo Celsius – was previously paused for cost‑optimisation, but development has since resumed. The plant is expected to capture approximately 350 000 metric tons of CO₂ a year once operational.

Together, these projects show how Norwegian industry, government and research communities collaborate to drive scalable climate solutions.

Capturing CO₂ is only the beginning. First, it must be condensed into liquid form and temporarily stored. Then it must transported for secure, permanent storage. The latter is the role of Northern Lights, the transport and storage component of Longship – and a project that sets a new global standard.

Developed by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies, Northern Lights provides an open, cross‑border CO₂ transport and storage service accessible to European emitters. CO₂ is shipped to a terminal at Øygarden, then piped offshore and injected nearly 2 600 metres beneath the seabed.

Northern Lights became operational in 2025, with a storage capacity of 1.5 million metric tons a year. The Norwegian Government has approved the development plan for Northern Lights Phase 2, which will increase capacity to at least 5 million metric tons a year. The EU has recognised Northern Lights as a “Project of Common Interest,” enabling EUR 131 million in funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

The expansion will build on existing onshore and offshore infrastructure and includes additional onshore storage tanks, a new jetty and additional injection wells. This development phase is expected to be completed and ready for operation in the second half of 2028.

The project’s rapid development is driven by strong interest from European industries eager to meet net‑zero commitments. Responding to demand, the project owners have established a joint venture, Northern Lights JV.

Key milestones underscore this momentum:

• 2020: First injection well drilled in the North Sea
• 2023: Keel‑laying ceremony for the world’s first large‑scale LCO₂ transport ships
• 2023: Agreement signed with Ørsted for the storage of 430 000 metric tons of biogenic CO₂, with first shipments planned from 2026
• 2024: Delivery of the transport ships Northern Pioneer and Northern Pathfinder
• 2025: First CO₂ volumes transported and injected for storage
• 2025: Development plan for phase 2 approved by Norwegian Government
• 2026: Transport and storage of 800 000 metric tons of captured and liquefied CO₂ a year from Yara’s ammonia and fertiliser plant in Sluiskil, the Netherlands

These achievements confirm Northern Lights as a cornerstone of Europe’s emerging CCS ecosystem – and make Longship a key component of Europe’s climate strategy.

Norway is an early mover in CCS. A unique long-term collaboration between the Norwegian Government, government agencies, R&D institutions, academia and industrial partnersforms the backbone of Longship’s success. Since 2005, Gassnova has supported technology development and cost reduction across the full CCS chain, helping to bridge the gap between pilot projects and industrial deployment .

The full‑scale CCS initiative is the result of a partnership model that is characteristically Norwegian: visionary, collaborative, practical and focused on delivering solutions that work.

Read more about Northern Lights