Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission who pre-recorded an address for the event said: “This is a big moment for Europe’s green transition, and for our clean tech industry. The first ever full value chain, for carbon capture and storage in Europe. You are showing that it can be done. That we can grow our industry through innovation and competition, and at the same time, remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere, through ingenuity and cooperation. This is what Europe’s competitive sustainability is all about.” 

The CO2 was captured at an INEOS Oxide facility in Belgium, transported to the Danish North Sea, and stored in the INEOS-operated Nini field. Project Greensand aims to store up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year in this area by 2030, while also contributing significantly to our understanding and advancement of carbon storage technology.

The CO2 was transported from Belgium aboard a platform supply vessel, transferred on the Noble Resolve jack-up rig, injected into the Nini field, and stored at a depth of approximately 1,800 meters below the seabed for this pilot project.

The FID for a full-scale project is expected to be reached in the first half of 2024, following proof of concept, and will have an estimated delivery duration of around 24 months, after which carbon storage could be operational as early as 2025.

Hugo Dijkgraaf, CTO at Wintershall Dea, said: “The first steps have been taken. Now we need more bilateral agreements to link emissions-intensive industries to CO2 storage sites in the North Sea.”