Denmark has begun storage of CO2 within the subsoil of the North Sea, in line with INEOS, the lead associate in Mission Greensand, described because the world’s first cross-border carbon seize and storage scheme (CCS).
In keeping with a ten September announcement, the 23 companions behind the challenge have now submitted the ultimate report from the pilot challenge, which has aimed to develop, check and display protected and environment friendly storage of CO2 within the North Sea subsurface.
The group mentioned the thorough technical verification confirms that the saved CO2 stays safely and completely within the closed Nini West reservoir 1,800 metres beneath the North Sea seabed, as anticipated. This a part of the work was carried out by unbiased supplier of threat, verification and standardization companies, DNV.
“We now have documentation that now we have a well-functioning storage for CO2 within the North Sea subsoil, the place giant quantities of CO2 that will in any other case have been emitted into the environment will be safely and completely saved. We will see that the saved CO2 behaves as anticipated within the reservoir 1,800 metres beneath the seabed. That confidence offers us a strong basis to take the following steps that might be essential for CCS in Denmark”, mentioned Mads Gade, Nation Supervisor at INEOS Denmark and Business Director at INEOS Vitality, the main associate behind Mission Greensand.
“Excellent work” from all 23 companions
Mission Greensand demonstrated that captured CO2 will be transported throughout borders and saved offshore to mitigate local weather change. This was marked by the events behind the consortium on the occasion First Carbon Storage on 8 March 2023 in Esbjerg, the place Denmark’s King Frederik gave the sign to start the CO2-storage operation,
It was additionally marked with a video speech by President of the European Fee Ursula von der Leyen and speech by Minister for Local weather, Vitality and Utilities, Lars Aagaard.
“We’re very proud that we’re the primary on the earth to achieve creating, testing and demonstrating a well-functioning worth chain for protected and environment friendly seize, transport and storage of CO2 throughout nationwide borders with the intention of mitigating local weather change. This is a crucial step on the best way to assembly Denmark’s and the EU’s local weather ambitions, and every of the 23 companions has executed an excellent job. I’m impressed by how the duty has been solved throughout {many professional} teams, which has made this part of Mission Greensand come collectively”, says Mads Gade.
The intensive work within the EUDP-supported challenge has additionally meant that a big group of Danish and worldwide corporations have gained priceless expertise within the work with seize, transport and storage of CO2, and now have higher situations to play a task in a future CCS market in Europe.
Standing on the shoulders of an earlier challenge in Greensand
With a accomplished and verified pilot part, the best way has been paved for the event of CCS in Denmark. The lead associate in Mission Greensand, INEOS, has already utilized for approval on behalf of licence companions Wintershall Dea (now Harbour Vitality) and Nordsøfonden for Denmark’s first large-scale CO2 storage facility, and is now working onerous to begin CO2 storage within the North Sea by the tip of 2025 or the start of 2026. The ambition is that as much as 400,000 tonnes of CO2 might be saved per yr, whereas the plan is to retailer as much as 8 million tonnes of CO2 per yr within the space below the North Sea’s seabed from 2030.
On the identical time, work can also be underway to research whether or not it’s attainable and protected to retailer CO2 underground on land in Denmark, and earlier this yr, the Minister for Local weather, Vitality and Utilities awarded INEOS, Wintershall Dea (Harbour Vitality) and Nordsøfonden an exploration licence for an space of the Danish subsurface in Jutland within the Gassum reservoir. The expertise from Greensand might be included within the work to display protected storage additionally on land.
“We emphasised that Denmark has moved to the forefront of CCS on the earth once we saved the primary CO2 within the North Sea. Now we’re within the strategy of investigating the right way to take the following step, and right here we stand on the shoulders of the invaluable expertise from Mission Greensand’s pilot. We’re eager to proceed this momentum with an ambition that Greensand would be the first CO2 storage facility in operation within the EU, and we at the moment are awaiting the Danish authorities’ approval of a everlasting storage. This is a crucial step, as a result of if Denmark takes simply 5% of a future CCS market in Europe, it might imply as much as 9,000 jobs, with an financial potential of DKK 50 billion. On the identical time, we are able to help the EU’s aims, as a result of now we have all of the stipulations to create a brand new business that’s a part of the answer to the challenges of the local weather”.
