In a major advancement for carbon storage in Europe, Iceland-based Carbfix has become the first company to receive a permit for onshore geological storage of CO2 under the EU’s Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Directive.
The permit, issued on April 30 by the Environment and Energy Agency of Iceland, grants Carbfix the right to store up to 106,000 tons of CO2 per year at its Hellisheiði site — totaling 3.2 million tons over three decades.
This marks the first time an EU-compliant permit has been awarded for land-based carbon storage; previous approvals have all involved offshore locations since the CCS Directive’s adoption in 2009.
Carbfix has spent over a decade developing and validating its unique approach, which involves injecting CO2 dissolved in water into underground basalt formations.
There, the gas undergoes rapid mineralization, turning into stable carbonate rock within two years.
Since pilot operations began in 2012, nearly 100,000 tons of CO2 have been securely stored using this method — up until now under exemptions allowed for research projects below the 100,000-ton threshold.
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The storage site receives CO2 from two main sources: ON Power’s geothermal facility — one of the largest of its kind globally — and Climeworks’ two direct air capture (DAC) units, including the world’s largest in operation.
With the new permit secured, Carbfix can now fully capture and mineralize emissions from the entire Hellisheiði power complex.
As the first company to commercialize underground CO2 mineralization, Carbfix is scaling its ambitions with the Coda Terminal project — an industrial-scale storage hub in development that aims to handle up to 3 million tons of CO2 annually.
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The expansion at Hellisheiði has been driven by a partnership between Carbfix, ON Power, and the European Innovation Fund, which contributed €3.9 million in support.
Carbfix CEO, Edda Sif Pind Aradóttir, commented: “This is a major milestone and an important step in the company’s growth toward having a truly positive impact on climate change.”
“Every step matters and this permit places ON Power’s plant at the forefront of the global geothermal sector. With this first onshore storage permit in Europe, Iceland also retains a certain leadership role in building a new industry that is essential to both the EU’s and IPCC’s climate goals.”
