The offshore carbon capture and storage is getting a boost as Aker Carbon Capture joins an ambitious North Sea Greensand carbon storage pilot project. The Danish Greensand CO2 transport and storage project just announced on August 17th that it is forming a consortium to move ahead with the pilot phase offshore injection test.
“Open access infrastructure for transport and storage of CO2 is key to deliver on the Paris agreement, and Aker Carbon Capture is proud to support national infrastructure projects with key capabilities and experience,” said Henrik Madsen, Chairman of Aker Carbon Capture.
According to management, the company is positioning itself to accelerate the growing carbon capture and storage (CCS) market in Denmark and also support other initiatives in Europe. It also aims to increase the CO2 storage capacity to enable the decarbonization efforts for its customers.
Greensand Carbon Capture And Storage Project
The Greensand project’s goal is to demonstrate the safe storage of CO2 emissions offshore. If successful, it could provide the data and experience needed to allow a larger-scale CO2 storage program by 2025.
Apart from Aker, other participants like INEOS Energy, Wintershall Dea, Maersk Drilling and 29 in total carbon capture technology companies, research institutes and universities, have signed an agreement to support the second phase of the pilot project. That comes after the successful completion of phase one – technical and commercial viability.
If the project received the necessary funding from the Danish government, the consortium targets the start of on-site work by the end of this year, with the offshore injection pilot test taking place in late 2022.
An expansion of the program to adjacent storage sites could lead to a capacity of 3.5 million tons of CO2 storage per year which is more than 10% of Denmark’s annual total emissions. Some participants believe that the project could store up to 8 million tons of carbon dioxide per year that can be injected into the offshore Nini West reservoir.
Aker is showing again it is leading the way in Europe with the expansion of CCS initiatives. Other companies, also concerned with achieving the Paris Agreement targets of zero emissions by 2050, are rushing to take part, driving the large-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies.
