麻豆传媒

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is a decarbonisation solution that is gaining global momentum in support of the Paris Agreement. Almost every nation has endorsed the landmark treaty and committed to pursuing efforts that limit the global average temperature rise this century to well below 2鈩�. If that target is to be reached, a significant reduction in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is necessary.

Shell and its partners, Equinor and Total Energies, with backing from the Norwegian government, are spearheading an ambitious industrial decarbonisation project called Northern Lights. Labeled 鈥渢he first-ever cross-border, open-source CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure network鈥�, the initiative targets the mitigation of industrial process emissions through an advanced shipping and subsea-storage system.¹ In January 2022, Northern Lights was awarded EU funding for expansion studies.²

Decarbonisation initiatives are imperative for 鈥渉ard-to-abate sectors鈥�, or industries for which transitioning to renewable energy sources is not technologically or economically feasible. These heavy and heavy-duty transport industries include cement, steel, plastics, petrochemicals, trucking, shipping and aviation. Hard-to-abate sectors are estimated to contribute roughly 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions globally.³ As such, reaching net-zero emissions from these sectors would have a profound effect on societies鈥� ability to reach Paris Agreement goals.

One method for improving the emissions intensity of heavy industries is through safely capturing and storing Scope 1 emissions. Scope 1 emissions occur from an organisation鈥檚 owned and operated sources or facilities. These emissions are what Longship, Norway鈥檚 full-scale CCUS project, intends to mitigate.⁴ Northern Lights is the open access CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure associated with the broader Longship initiative.

The first step of the Longship initiative involves partnering with industrial emitters that have implemented CO₂ capture and ship loading capacities, such as the Fortum Oslo Varme (FOV) waste-to-energy facility. FOV aims to be the first full-scale waste-to-energy plant in the world.

FOV uses Shell Cansolv CO₂ capture technology, which has contributed to a capture rate of up to 95% in a 5,500-hour pilot test on flue gas. Northern Lights is handling the transportation and storage of CO₂. Most recently, FOV has applied for funding through the EU innovation fund in March 2022.⁵

Once the CO₂ is captured, compressed and ready to be loaded, newly designed Northern Lights ships will safely transport the emissions to on-shore CO₂ receiving terminals located within 100 kilometers of the undersea storage location on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. This location is 2,600 metres below the seabed of the North Sea, an area with over 20 years of safe CO₂ storage history. In fact, the world鈥檚 first large-scale storage project was initiated by Statoil (now Equinor) in 1996 offshore of Norway in the North Sea.⁶

Phase one of the Northern Lights project is slated to be completed by mid-2024 with logistics and technology capable of capturing, transporting and storing 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ per year. The stretch goal is 5 million tonnes per year depending on market demand, CO₂ capture capacities of industrial emitters in the region and other factors.

Related reading: DNV GL approves Shell carbon capture technology to bring down emissions from Fortum waste-to-energy plant

Shell Catalysts & Technologies is committed to enabling a future with more and cleaner energy. We offer an expanding portfolio of energy transition solutions  and various carbon capture technologies like CANSOLV CO₂ to aid in industrial decarbonisation efforts. Our market managers, engineers and molecular scientists work with our customers to decarbonise operations, reduce waste and build a more sustainable future.

Subscribe to our monthly  to stay up-to-date with our work in this space, receive webinar invitations and links to download related white papers or reports. Additionally, explore the  to see the latest videos, articles or events documenting energy transition developments.

1 _{鈥淲hat We Do鈥�, Northern Lights, Northern Lights JV DA, 21 Apr. 2021, northernlightsccs.com/what-we-do/.}
2 _{鈥淣orthern Lights awarded EU funding for expansion studies鈥�, Northern Lights, 27 January 2022, https://northernlightsccs.com/news/northern-lights-awarded-eu-funding-for-expansion-studies/.}
3 _{鈥淢ission Possible: Reaching Net-Zero Carbon Emissions from Harder-to-Abate Sectors鈥�, Energy Transitions Commission, 2 June 2021, www.energy-transitions.org/publications/mission-possible/.}
4 _{鈥淐CS Project 鈥楲ongship鈥欌��, IEA/IRENA Renewables Policies Database, 23 November 2021, https://www.iea.org/policies/12675-ccs-project-longship.}
5 _{鈥淔ortum Oslo Varme and our Carbon Capture Project鈥�, Fortum, accessed 18 March 2022, https://www.fortum.com/about-us/newsroom/press-kits/carbon-removal/fortum-oslo-varme-and-our-carbon-capture-project.}
6 _{鈥淐arbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCS & CCUS): We鈥檙e storing carbon safely and permanently under the sea bed鈥�, Equinor, accessed 18 March 2022, https://www.equinor.com/en/what-we-do/carbon-capture-and-storage.html.}