INEOS-led Greensand to become first full-scale carbon storage facility in EU
INEOS with its partners Harbour Energy and Nordsøfonden, has made a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the first commercial phase of Project Greensand, with storage operations set to begin at the end of 2025/early 2026. This decision paves the way for expected investments of more than $150 million across the Greensand CCS value chain.
As the first full-scale carbon storage in the EU, ‘Greensand Futures’ marks a critical step to mitigate climate change by achieving the storage volumes necessary to support Danish and European climate targets.
"This is a breakthrough for Carbon Capture and Storage,” said Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS. “Greensand Future will be the first CO2 storage facility in operation in the EU supporting both Danish and EU’s climate objectives.”
“With Greensand Future and the establishment of the full value chain we are sending an important message to the Danish and European emitters currently considering large-scale capture projects, that it can be done,” said Mads Gade, Head of Denmark, INEOS Energy.
Greensand Future aims to safely capture and permanently store 400.000 tonnes of CO2 each year as a start allowing for the gradual expansion of storage capacity towards 2030 as CO2 volumes increase with a potential to store up to 8.000.000 tonnes of CO2 per annum.
The European Commission has estimated that the European Union will need to establish a carbon storage capacity of 250 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2040 to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement. CCS is also considered a key technology in reaching the Danish 2045 net-zero targets.
The CO2 in the first phase of Greensand Future will be captured and liquified at Danish biomethane production plants, transported to the port of Esbjerg, and then shipped by Royal Wagenborg to the Nini field in the Danish North Sea for safe and permanent storage.
Last year, on March 8th, 2023, the INEOS-led pilot Project Greensand conducted the world’s first cross-border offshore CO2 storage intended to mitigate climate change as His Majesty King Frederik of Denmark officially initiated the first injection of CO2 into the Nini field during the pilot phase of Project Greensand.
“Last year we were the first in the world to succeed in developing a value chain for safe and efficient capture, transport and storage of CO2 across national borders,” added Mads Gade, Head of Denmark, INEOS Energy. “Now we are building on the learnings from the pilot and aiming to deliver a fully operational commercial project by end 2025/early 2026.”
The results of Project Greensand have been verified by the independent and world-leading provider of risk, verification and standardization services, DNV. The thorough technical verification ensures that the stored CO2 remains safely and permanently in the closed Nini West reservoir 1,800 meters below the North Sea seabed, as expected.
