On the opening day of European Hydrogen Week, Northern Lights and Yara International signed a binding commercial transport and storage agreement with the ambition to capture and store 800,000 tonnes of CO2 from the ammonia production in Sluiskil starting in 2025. In August 2022, the parties agreed on the main terms, representing the world’s first commercial CCS agreement. The CO2 will be liquefied and shipped from the Netherlands to permanent storage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf by Northern Lights.
“This is a milestone for decarbonizing hard-to-abate industry in Europe, and for Yara, it’s an important step towards decarbonizing our ammonia production, product lines, and the food-value chain at large,” says Svein Tore Holsether, CEO of Yara International.
“We are very pleased that Yara has selected Northern Lights as CO2 transport and storage provider. This commercial agreement gives us the opportunity to further utilize the capacity at our storage site below the North Sea. It confirms the commercial potential for CCS and demonstrates that the market for transport and storage of CO2 is evolving rapidly”, says Børre Jacobsen, Managing Director of Northern Lights.
CCS is key to decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries in Europe
In the roadmap to net zero by 2050, updated in September 2023, the International Energy Agency estimates that carbon capture and storage will account for 8% of the cumulative emissions reductions globally. According to the IEA, if all announced CCS projects are realized, global carbon capture capacity could reach net zero levels by 2030.
As the European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson stated during the CCUS Forum in Oslo last year, “without CCS and CCU, it will be practically impossible to limit the global warming to the 1.5 degrees Celsius objective”. CCS provides European industry with a realistic decarbonization solution to reduce climate emissions. The agreement between Northern Lights and Yara contributes to kickstarting a commercial market for CCS services in Europe.
“Norway can provide Europe with significant CO2 storage, which will help the EU reach their climate targets. It is a safe and efficient way to handle emissions, and this agreement demonstrates that”, says Børre Jacobsen, Managing Director of Northern Lights.
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