A significant stride in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has been made in Denmark as the first full-scale CO2 storage facility in the European Union has received a Final Investment Decision from operator INEOS. This landmark achievement signifies a crucial step towards mitigating climate change by establishing the necessary storage capacity to align with Danish and European climate targets.
INEOS, in collaboration with Harbour Energy and Nordsøfonden, will now commence with the initial commercial phase, known as “Greensand Future.”
This decision sets the stage for anticipated investments exceeding $150 million across the entire Greensand CCS value chain.
Greensand has secured commercial agreements encompassing the entire supply chain, from CO2 emitters to logistics, storage, and shipping, underpinned by the necessary funding to enable final injection and permanent storage within Denmark and Europe.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, emphasized: “Greensand Carbon Storage is a far better way to decarbonise Europe than deindustrialise. That just moves the problem elsewhere, doesn’t solve it, and destroys jobs. Our Investment in Greensand helps secure a sustainable future for both the planet and the economy.”
With the aim of commencing storage operations in the INEOS-operated Nini field in the Danish North Sea by the end of 2025 or early 2026, “Greensand Future” will become the EU’s inaugural operational CO2 storage facility dedicated to climate change mitigation.
Relevant: INEOS And Royal Wagenborg Partner To Transport CO2 For Project Greensand
Greensand Future represents a fully integrated industrial CCS value chain constructed upon a scalable platform. This platform facilitates the gradual expansion of storage capacity in response to increasing CO2 volumes. Its design is directly applicable to other onshore and offshore storage projects, contributing to the much-needed global acceleration of CCS deployment.
Greensand Future aims to safely capture and permanently store 400,000 metric tons of CO2 annually as an initial step, with the capacity for gradual expansion towards 2030 as CO2 volumes increase, potentially reaching up to 8,000,000 tons of CO2 per annum.
The European Commission has projected that the European Union will require the establishment of a carbon storage capacity of 250 million tons of CO2 per year by 2040 to fulfill the objectives of the Paris Agreement. CCS is also recognized as a pivotal technology in achieving Denmark’s 2045 net-zero targets.
Read more: Project Greensand Celebrates Successful Pilot, Leading The Way For CO2 Storage In Denmark
