Microsoft has signed a new strategic agreement with Norwegian energy company Equinor to advance the carbon capture, transport, and storage value chain in Northwestern Europe and the United States.
The collaboration also covers carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits, where Microsoft is already one of the world’s largest buyers.
Equinor Senior Vice President Grete Tveit emphasized the complementary strengths of the two companies: Equinor as a leader in CO2 transport and storage, and Microsoft as both a major procurer of carbon credits and a provider of digital tools capable of tracking captured carbon from its source to permanent storage.
Expanding on the Northern Lights Project
The agreement builds on the companies’ existing work together, particularly through the Northern Lights initiative, the world’s first cross-border CO2 transport and storage project. Northern Lights, a joint venture between Equinor, TotalEnergies, and Shell, is part of Longship, the Norwegian government’s flagship full-scale CCS program.
Longship is designed to capture carbon dioxide from industrial facilities in the Oslo-fjord region, liquefy it, and transport it by ship to a terminal on Norway’s west coast. From there, the CO2 is piped offshore and injected into a subsea reservoir 2,600 meters beneath the North Sea.
Microsoft has supported the project since 2020, providing digital expertise and committing to use Northern Lights as a storage partner for its carbon removal portfolio in Europe.
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Most recently, Microsoft announced a 1.1 million-ton carbon credit purchase from Hafslund Celsio, a waste-to-energy company developing CCS infrastructure that will send captured CO2 to Northern Lights for long-term storage. Once operational, Hafslund Celsio’s system is expected to capture 400,000 metric tons annually.
The strengthened partnership reinforces both companies’ climate strategies: Equinor’s ambition to expand its role in the carbon value chain, and Microsoft’s goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030. Their collaboration combines large-scale energy expertise with digital innovation to accelerate the deployment of CCS solutions.
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