Northern Lights begins injecting first CO2 captured from wastewater

source: Noerthern Lights.

Norway’s Northern Lights carbon capture and storage (CCS) project has begun injecting its first volumes of biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from wastewater treatment.

The project, located in the North Sea, has received CO2 derived from wastewater processing at the Veas facility in Slemmestad, which serves more than 800,000 people in the Oslo region.

The captured emissions have been liquefied and transported by truck to the Øygarden receiving terminal before being sent offshore for permanent storage.

At Øygarden, the CO2 is transferred into onshore storage tanks and transported via pipeline to a reservoir approximately 2,600 metres beneath the seabed.

The deliveries are being handled by carbon removal company Inherit under what is described as a pilot agreement. Northern Lights is expected to receive up to 7,000 tonnes of CO2 per year from the wastewater source over an initial two-year period.

The development represents an expansion of feedstock sources for CCS, moving beyond traditional industrial emitters such as cement and waste-to-energy plants. Wastewater-derived CO2 is considered biogenic, offering potential for negative emissions when captured and stored.

Northern Lights is a joint venture between Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies, with each company holding an equal stake. Equinor serves as technical service provider and is responsible for operating both the onshore terminal and offshore storage infrastructure.

The project forms part of Norway’s Longship initiative, the government-backed full-scale CCS programme, with the state covering around 80% of phase-one development costs.

Northern Lights began operations in 2025 with the injection of CO2 captured from industrial sources, including CO2 collected from a cement plant in Brevik.

It is widely described as the world’s first open-access CO2 transport and storage network, allowing third-party emitters across Europe to ship and permanently store emissions offshore.

In its first phase, the project has a storage capacity of around 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year, with plans to expand to more than five million tonnes annually in a second phase later this decade.

In addition to domestic sources, Northern Lights has secured agreements with industrial players across Europe, including Yara, Ørsted and Stockholm Exergi.

source: gasworld