Carbon capture and storage is a necessary measure in order to achieve the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. But how do you permanently store carbon? And is it safe?
Global emissions from fossil fuel-based energy and industries were estimated to be 37.5 billion tonnes in 2022. According to the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global carbon emissions must be reduced by 50-85 percent before 2050 in order to achieve the tough goals of the Paris Agreement.
Norway has set a goal to cut emissions by 55 percent by 2030, but many emissions are difficult to cut out. This is because for some sectors, we have no alternative production methods that have lower emissions. Carbon capture and storage, or CCS, is the only strategy available that can remove carbon emissions from critical industrial sectors such as metal and cement production and waste incineration.
The only way of achieving climate goals in Norway, and the rest of the world, is to use CCS to cut emissions in these sectors alongside other climate initiatives. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has calculated that around 14 percent of total emissions reductions must come from CCS by 2060 if we are to achieve our goals.
One of the biggest concerns around CCS is the storage aspect. The question of whether the carbon has been stored safely and whether it could leak out again from the storage site has been a vital one to answer.
Permanent carbon storage
Natural underground storage sites have proven that hydrocarbons (oil and gas) are found in, for example, sandstone formations and then pumped out. These hydrocarbons have been held there for thousands of years by dense caprocks.
On the Norwegian Continental Shelf, carbon can either be stored in saline aquifers or in depleted hydrocarbon formations. A saline aquifer is an underground geological formation that has salt water in porous spaces, while a depleted hydrocarbon formation has rocks that previously contained hydrocarbons (oil and/or gas). In addition, basalt (solidified lava) has shown itself to be a potentially good candidate for permanent carbon storage. Offshore saline aquifers are currently the preferred storage location.
To permanently store carbon, it must be injected into a porous and permeable formation (it must have enough porous space to retain large amounts of carbon, and there must be contact between the porous spaces so that the carbon can move across the formation). Such formations can typically be hundreds of metres thick. It is also important that the formation is covered by a sealing caprock that prevents the carbon from seeping out. Carbon dioxide is lighter than water and will move up across the formation.
It is preferable that the storage formation is covered by multiple layers of low-permeable rocks, which then form an impenetrable barrier between the stored carbon and the seabed. The IPCC has estimated that a proactively managed carbon storage site will be able to retain about 99 percent of the stored carbon over a 1,000 year period.
There are a number of mechanisms that ensure that the carbon is stored permanently (see figure). Firstly, there is structural capture. This means that the dense caprocks ensure that the carbon does not escape to the water column or atmosphere. Then there is residual capture, where carbon molecules are captured in the formation water on its journey up across the formation, and then there is solubility capture, where the carbon dissolves into the formation water. This makes the formation water heavier, making it sink towards the bottom of the formation. Finally, mineralisation of carbon will take over and increasingly bind the carbon dioxide to carbonate minerals.
Great experience in carbon storage
Norway has a long history of carbon storage using wells and underneath the North Sea. As of today, there are two operational full-scale CCS facilities in Norway. The facilities are called Sleipner and Snøhvit.
Sleipner is the world’s first industrial-scale CCS project, where the aim is to reduce carbon emissions. Injecting carbon dioxide into a saline aquifer under the seabed began in 1996. Since then, the project has shared knowledge with innumerable research projects worldwide with the aim of increasing expertise and knowledge around CCS as measure for reducing carbon emissions.
Monitoring carbon storage sites
Strict monitoring requirements are in place for carbon storage sites to ensure that the storage is safe and permanent. The carbon storage sites are carefully monitored for signs of the carbon dioxide seeping out. There are a number of different monitoring strategies adapted to the geological conditions at the individual storage sites. There are many methods to monitor conditions down the well from the surface and via satellite. The figure below shows a selection of methods that are in use at carbon storage sites around the world.
Source: Gassnova
The strict procedures for the choice of storage area and monitoring the storage site mean that the safety margins for carbon storage are extremely high on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Experience from the Sleipner Field and Snøhvit show that it is safe to permanently store carbon on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and that the chances of a leakage are small. Since 1996, Sleipnir has stored around 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and has shown no signs of leakages from the storage site.
Huge potential on the Continental Shelf
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has mapped the storage potential of the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has calculated that it will be possible to store 80 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide on the Norwegian Continental Shelf using aquifers and depleted oil fields. As an example, SINTEF estimates that if 10 percent of the storage capacity is used, it would be possible to store about 40 years’ worth of carbon emissions from the European cement industry.
By way of comparison, the Norwegian CCS project Longship has planned to store a total of 800,000 tonnes of carbon per year once it is operational. Northern Lights is the transport and storage operator for the project and has a storage capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of carbon per year during the first phase. This is all to say that there is good capacity for carbon storage under the seabed on the Norwegian Continental Shelf from both Norwegian and European sources for many years to come.
Please visit our CCS dictionary if there are professional expressions or abbreviations in this text you are not familiar with.
CCS covers a range of technologies for capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes before the emissions reach the air and for storing the carbon permanently in underground storage sites. Suitable storage locations contain porous and permeable rocks with a sufficiently dense layer above that ensures that the carbon does not leak up to the surface again.
In the Norwegian CCS project Longship, carbon will be stored in a sandstone formation around 3,000 metres below the seabed in the North Sea. This formation is a saline aquifer, which means that there is salt water in the porous spaces before the carbon is pumped down and displaces the formation water.
Once the carbon has been stored in sandstone formations, the minimum depth is set to 700 metres below the seabed so that the temperature and pressure are great enough to keep the carbon in the desired phase (it should have both liquid and gaseous properties).
Morten Henriksen appointed new CEO of Gassnova
The Gassnova SF Board of Directors has appointed Morten Henriksen as the new CEO of the company.
Morten Henriksen, 54, takes up the role following a period as Executive Vice President at Arendals Fossekompani A/S where he also headed up subsidiaries Vergia and AFK Vannkraft. Henriksen holds a master’s degree in Electric Power Engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), and has extensive international experience in a range of management and board roles focusing on energy, technology and investment.
“The Board of Directors is thrilled that Morten Henriksen has agreed to lead Gassnova. There has been significant development in interest around CO2 management in Europe in recent years, especially following the decision to realise project Longship. Follow-up work around Longship will be one of Gassnova’s top priorities going forward. Gassnova will also be a key contributor to further developments in the area of CO2 management – including through its roles in CLIMIT Demo and at the Technology Centre at Mongstad – while working in partnership with other stakeholders in the policy apparatus. The Board is confident that in Henriksen we have found a most competent and talented CEO, and that he has the right expertise and experience to help Gassnova develop further,” says Morten Ruud, Chairman of the Gassnova Board of Directors.
“I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead Gassnova into the future, and am grateful for the confidence of the Board of Directors. The company plays a vital role in the capture, transportation and storage of CO2, which is a critical segment in efforts to achieve climate goals both domestically and internationally. I look forward to working together with my excellent colleagues in a business that really can make a difference to the future,” says Morten Henriksen.
Morten Henriksen appointed new CEO of Gassnova
Morten Henriksen will take up his position at Gassnova on 1 May in conjunction with the retirement of current CEO Roy Vardheim in the summer of 2023.
Any questions in relation to this new appointment should be directed to Chairman of the Board Morten Ruud, tel. +47 911 54 956.
What you need to know about carbon capture and storage
Why is there so much talk about carbon capture and storage? And what’s the deal with CCS?
There has been a lot of talk recently in the media about carbon capture and storage. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was at the opening of the visitor centre for the transport and storage project Northern Lights. Minster of Energy Terje Aasland signed an agreement that will see carbon capture technology installed at the energy recovery plant in Klemetsrud, Oslo. And Heidelberg Materials has also set the construction of a carbon capture plant at Brevik into motion. But what is CCS, and why do we need it?
CO2 is a greenhouse gas
Carbon capture and storage is often shortened to CCS, and although we talk about “carbon capture”, what we really mean is capturing carbon dioxide, or CO2. CO2 is a naturally occurring gas found in our atmosphere and which is also a key component of photosynthesis. When burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, CO2 is released from carbon that has been out of natural cycles for millions of years. This means that the CO2 level in the atmosphere increases. Since CO2 is a greenhouse gas that affects the atmosphere’s ability to trap heat, it contributes to global warming.
The Paris Agreement
For many years, researchers have been sounding the alarm about the coming climate challenges if the world does not cut its greenhouse gas emissions, including CO2. Therefore, at the COP climate summit in 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted. Most UN member nations have signed up to the Agreement, which binds countries to setting new goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions every five years. The goal is that by 2050 there will be a “balance” between the capture and emission of greenhouse gases.
Norway’s greenhouse gas emissions
Like many other countries, Norway is working to cut its greenhouse gas emissions. A number of actions have already been taken, but it is nowhere near enough. The Norwegian government recently announced a more ambitious climate goal of reducing emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to their 1990 levels. According to the Norwegian Environment Agency, we have only cut our emissions by 4.5% compared to 1990.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), carbon capture and storage is one of the tools that will be necessary to cut greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently by 2030. This is because it is difficult for a number of sectors to cut their emissions. The automotive industry is switching from petrol-run to electric vehicles to cut carbon emissions, but things are not so simple for something like the cement industry. Limestone is currently used to create cement, and for the time being no other alternative has been found that can cut carbon emissions in cement production. The cement industry must therefore capture the carbon before it gets out into the atmosphere and leads to more warming.
The CCS project Longship consists of the capture operators Hafslund Oslo Celsio and Brevik CCS and the transport and storage operator Northern Lights
Storage under the seabed
CCS then is a technology that can be used to capture and then permanently store CO2 from factory emissions. In Norway, we have a state-sponsored CCS project called Longship which is responsible for the entire chain from capturing the CO2, through to transporting and storing it. The Heidelberg Materials cement factory in Brevik and the Hafslund Oslo Celsio energy recovery plant at Klemetsrud are two of the capture operators for the project, which is now in the construction phase. Through Longship, Northern Lights will transport the CO2 in tankers from the capture sites to the specially designed reception terminal near Bergen on the west coast of Norway. The CO2 will be stored here in pressurised tanks before being pumped offshore along a pipeline to an injection well. The CO2 will be stored here in the sandstone permanently around 3,000 metres below the seabed. This is how carbon capture and storage will contribute to preventing huge amounts of CO2 being released into the atmosphere.
Please visit our CCS dictionary if there are professional expressions or abbreviations in this text you are not familiar with.
Norway is hosting the EU’s annual CCUS conference, which is taking place in Oslo on 27-28 October. This year, the Ministry of Energy is co-hosting the conference with the European Commission.
The CCUS Forum brings together business people, politicians, academics and civil society to discuss issues related to CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage) out to 2050. Many leading figures in the field will be at the conference, including the EU Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson.
Important forum
The Minster of Energy Terje Aasland opened this year’s CCUS Forum from the stage at the Vika cinema in Oslo.
– This forum is important for many reasons. First and foremost, because it deals with one of the key tools we have to fight climate change. The solutions for our future, need to be prepared today. Secondly, our forum is a place to share experiences and knowledge. As most of you know, Norway has a long history with CCS and reservoir management. Since Sleipner started capturing and storing CO2 in 1996 lessons have been learned. We know it works. We know it’s safe. And not least, we know political decisions and the close cooperation between policy and industry provides results, Aasland said at the opening of the CCUS Forum.
Spotlight on Longship
Aasland also highlighted the Norwegian investment in the Longship CCS project.
– For many years, various Norwegian governments have supported technology development, testing and pilot projects. The Longship project is built on the shoulders of these efforts. It is one of the biggest climate projects undertaken by Norwegian industry, and unique in terms of the technical and commercial model. The construction has started at both capture sites and at the receiving terminal on the west coast. The capture facilities will be operational by 2024 and 2026, respectively. This is no longer a desktop exercise: this is happening!
The Minister also pointed to a number of issues that need to be addressed, including the development of more space to store CO2, developing markets for transporting CO2 across national borders, and financial support to scale up the market for carbon capture in Europe.
Continuing the work from 2021
Last year’s conference worked on a strategic vision for CCS and CCU, CO2 infrastructure and industrial partnerships. This year’s conference will continue this work and discuss other important issues for the sector, set priorities for next year, and assist the European Commission in its policy work on CCS and CCU.
The conference was first held in 2021, but only online. This year’s conference will be a hybrid version, with both online transmission and a physical event.
New exploration licence granted under the Storage Regulations in the North Sea
The Norwegian Ministry of Energy granted an exploration licence under the Storage Regulations in the North Sea to Wintershall Dea Norge AS and CapeOmega AS.
The exploration licence allows for the exploration of areas that may be suitable for carbon storage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of the measures put forward by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as absolutely necessary if we are to achieve the climate goals agreed upon in the Paris Agreement.
The necessity of CCS was also mentioned during the opening of the 167th Storting this week, where the King of Norway said “Carbon capture and storage is absolutely necessary in order to achieve our climate goals, and Norway is a world leader in this technology.”
Great experience in carbon storage
“Carbon capture and storage at large scale is necessary for the world to achieve its ambitious climate goals. In Norway, we have great experience in carbon storage from the Sleipner and Snøhvit gas fields, and we know that it works. The granting of this licence will strengthen the development of this important climate initiative,” says Minster of Energy, Terje Aasland (Labour) in a press release from the Norwegian Ministry of Energy.
The press release states that the licence has been granted with a binding work programme to ensure rapid and efficient progress. If project development comes to a halt, the areas will have to be returned.
“This licence was granted to two companies that have brought forward a good, mature carbon storage project. There is interest from businesses about further announcements of exploration areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf,” continues Aasland.
The areas for which licences have now been granted were announced in April with an application deadline of 1 June 2022.
Minster of Energy, Terje Aasland. Photo: Naina Helen Jåma/NTB Kommunikasjon
The World Bank; carbon emission prices rised globally in 2021
Ambitious climate policies and economic factors led to increased carbon prices in 2021.
In May, the World Bank published their report on the state and trends of carbon pricing. It points to the fact that after many years of limited growth, carbon prices have grown rapidly in 2021. Both the level of carbon taxes and quota systems reached record levels in a number of jurisdictions. The underlying drivers are more ambitious climate policies and economic factors such as global energy prices.
Price per tonne of CO2
The expansion of a number of quota systems and increases in quota prices have led to a similar increase in state revenues, and for the first time, revenues from quota sales have surpassed revenues from carbon taxes. However, the prices in most areas remain lower than necessary to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The average level of carbon taxes globally in 2021 was $6 per tonnes. Among quota systems, the EU and UK stand out with prices of up to $100 per tonne of CO2, while most other quota markets have prices around $10-30 per tonne. According to the World Bank, around 23% of global carbon emissions are subject to some form of carbon pricing instrument.
Need for transparency and verification
Regarding the voluntary markets for carbon credits, the World Bank writes that these are now at a crossroads. Market dynamics over the past year have driven a strong demand and increased diversity expressed by new buyers, different market niches and trade channels with distinct preferences. This has created a more varied pricing picture. Eventually, as the carbon credits market takes on a more important role in contributing to meeting climate goals, the need for transparency and verification of the credits sold will also grow. This will be a significant development going forwards. The volume of traded carbon credits in 2021 corresponds to 478 million tonnes of CO2 at an average price of almost $4 per tonne. Credits focusing on removing CO2 from the atmosphere were the most expensive, and were traded at prices of between $15 and $20 per tonne.
This is a part of the CCS environmental analysis, written by Gassnova’s analysis team. Please visit our CCS dictionary if there are professional expressions or abbreviations in this text you are not familiar with.
Equinor and Wintershall Dea are teaming up to build a pipeline that will carry CO2 from Germany to Norway.
Equinor and the German company Wintershall Dea have come to an agreement to develop a comprehensive value chain for carbon capture and storage. The chain will connect operators that emit CO2 with storage facilities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The announcement came in a press release from the companies.
According to the plan, the agreement will connect Germany, the largest source of carbon emission in Europe, with Norway, which has the largest carbon storage potential in Europe.
900 kilometre long pipeline
“This is a strong energy collaboration which will support the need for European industrial clusters to decarbonise their businesses. Wintershall Dea and Equinor are focussed on the green transition and will utilise expertise and experiences from both companies to work with authorities and partners in order to contribute to achieving our goals of reaching net zero emissions,” said Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor, in the press release.
The companies want to build a 900km long pipeline that will connect a carbon collection facility in northern Germany with storage sites in Norway.
Anders Opedal and Mario Mehren at the contract signing. (Photo: Thor Oliversen / Wintershall Dea)
Capacity of 20-40 million tons of carbon
“Wintershall Dea and Equinor will work together to create technical and commercial solutions for the development of CCS value chains in Europe and cooperate with authorities to design a framework to make this possible. We will build on our close partnership and this will start a new chapter in German-Norwegian cooperation,” says Mario Mehren, CEO of Wintershall Dea.
The pipeline is expected to have an annual capacity of 20-40 million tonnes of carbon, equivalent to around 20 per cent of all annual industrial emissions in Germany.
OCAP and GIDARA Energy have received funding to convert household waste to green methanol and CO2.
The Netherlands’ many greenhouses produce 17.5% of the country’s total export revenues. Natural gas is an important component in this, and the industry is responsible for 9% of the total domestic consumption of natural gas. It provides heating, light and CO2 – all essential for the greenhouses. This energy consumption resulted in 5.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2018. OCAP, the Linde-based network of pipelines for carbon transport, alone provides around 0.5 million tonnes of CO2 captured from various industrial sources for use in greenhouses, and so contributes to reducing the consumption of natural gas and therefore reducing carbon emissions for the country overall. Demand for CO2 is reported to be high, and interest in connecting to more CO2 suppliers and users is growing. Higher carbon prices in the quota market are making users look for “climate-neutral” CO2 sources based on biogenic sources or from incinerating waste that cannot be recycled.
Converting household waste
In May, it was announced that OCAP, along with the local company GIDARA Energy, has received €110 million in funding from Dutch authorities to use household waste from the Amsterdam area for the production of 90,000 tonnes of green methanol and 84,000 tonnes of CO2 per year for horticultural greenhouses. At the same time, Aker announced that it has received a contract from Netherlands-based Twence for the delivery of a carbon capture facility for the production and delivery of 100,000 tonnes/year of CO2 to local greenhouses from a waste-to-energy plant in the east of the country. This project also received support from authorities because the project contributes to reducing Dutch carbon emissions.
This is a part of the CCS environmental analysis, written by Gassnova’s analysis team. Please visit our CCS dictionary if there are professional expressions or abbreviations in this text you are not familiar with.
HeidelbergCement’s climate goals greatly exceed the taxonomy’s requirements
The EU’s climate ambition of a 55% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 and its associated taxonomy are putting pressure on most industries to meet these requirements and to secure their social legitimacy in order to continue operating. For the cement industry, the taxonomy has set requirements for maximum emissions of 498 kg of CO2 per tonne of cement. For HeidelbergCement, this requirement entails a 12% reduction in carbon emissions from their 2021 levels. According to a press release, HeidelbergCement has set a goal of a maximum of 400 kg of CO2 per tonne of cement by 2030. Other major cement producers, such as Holcim and Cemex, have previously set goals of 475 kg of CO2 per tonne of cement, under the same taxonomy requirement.
Plans to cut carbon emissions
At Heidelberg’s “Capital Markets Day” in May, the company presented its plans to cut carbon emissions, including its ambition of removing 10 million tonnes of CO2 through CCUS by 2030. One Canadian and six European projects were mentioned in addition to several pilot projects and CCU initiatives. In May, Heidelberg also announced that their project at Slite on Gotland is going ahead with funding from Swedish authorities.
GCCA supporting start-ups
The industry is also collaborating more broadly to promote technology development for more affordable CCUS solutions in the long run. In May, the Global Cement & Concrete Association selected six start-ups to receive backing through their “Innovandi Open Challenge” programme, which has presented promising concepts that the industry may benefit from in the run up to 2050.
This is a part of the CCS environmental analysis, written by Gassnova’s analysis team. Please visit our CCS dictionary if there are professional expressions or abbreviations in this text you are not familiar with.
EU sets the rules for green hydrogen and energy independence
Total investments under REPowerEU will increase, but will see savings from cuts to energy imports from Russia.
In May, the European Commission published its proposals for concrete regulations on how to incentivise the market to achieve the rapid scaling-up of renewable energy and green hydrogen, known as “REPowerEU”, which was announced in March. Its goal is to increase the volume of green hydrogen before 2030 and for consumption to reach 20 million tonnes by 2030, of which half will come from EU-based production and the other half will come from imports. The share of renewable power in the energy system will be doubled to 45% by 2030, and the share of solar and wind in the energy system will increase from 33% today to 67%. Blue hydrogen (“low-carbon hydrogen”) will also be prioritised up to 2030, given that it’s carbon footprint is 70% lower than today’s grey hydrogen. The regulations that were presented in May initially addressed the transport sector, but it is expected that the regulations will also cover other sectors in the future, such as industry. Today, the EU consumes around 10 million tonnes of hydrogen per year, most of which is produced using steam methane reforming without carbon storage (grey hydrogen).
Investments will increase
Compared to “Fit for 55”, which was launched less than a year ago, the European Commission assumes that total investments through REPowerEU will increase to €300 billion by 2030, but that it will see savings of almost €100 billion per year which is currently spent on energy imports from Russia. Increased imports of natural gas from other countries will not be enough to compensate for the shortfall in Russian natural gas by 2027. It is therefore assumed that the use of natural gas in industry will see a reduction of almost 40% from 92 to 57 bcm per year, while consumption of oil and coal is expected to increase somewhat. Total energy consumption will nevertheless be reduced by about 5%. The European Commission will find the money to finance these changes through a reprioritisation of funds and the sale of quotas that have so far been held back from the quota market, amongst other things.
This is a part of the CCS environmental analysis, written by Gassnova’s analysis team. Please visit our CCS dictionary if there are professional expressions or abbreviations in this text you are not familiar with.
