The technology behind CCS

CCS stands for Carbon Capture and Storage. It’s a technology designed to help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere by capturing CO2 at its source and storing it safely and permanently in underground reservoirs.

  • Capture: CO2 is captured from places like factories or power plants where it’s produced.
  • Transport: The captured CO2 is then transported to a storage site. This can be done using ships or pipelines.
  • Storage: Once it reaches the storage site, the CO2 is injected deep underground into geological formations like depleted oil and gas fields or deep saline aquifers beneath the seabed. Saline aquifers are underground layers of water-bearing rock that contain salty water. These geological formations provide safe and permanent storage for CO2, ensuring it remains trapped and does not escape back into the atmosphere. Typically, CO2 is stored at depths below 800 meters, where the pressure and temperature conditions keep it securely contained.

CCS helps reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. This process is crucial for industries that are challenging to decarbonize, as it allows for significant emission reductions while accelerating the transition of the energy sector.

Without CCS, Denmark and Europe will not be able to achieve climate neutrality. The European Carbon Management Strategy, adopted in February 2024, includes developing CO2 transport infrastructure, necessary for establishing a CO2 market in Europe. The goal is to create a CO2 storage capacity of at least 50 million tons per year by 2030, with a progressive increase to around 450 million tons per year by 2050. CCS contributes to achieving Denmark’s 70% reduction target for 2030 and supports the goals of the Paris Agreement. By integrating CCS technology, Denmark is poised to play a leading role in Europe’s green growth journey. This integrated approach is essential for reducing CO2 emissions in hard-to-decarbonize industrial sectors and achieving Denmark’s and Europe’s climate goals.

Denmark and the Danish North Sea are well suited and positioned for CCS due to several factors:

  • Extensive knowledge: Denmark has a long history of oil and gas operations in the North Sea, providing a strong foundation for knowledge, expertise and world-class offshore capabilities. By building on this offshore know-how, the Danish CCS initiative is creating new job opportunities.
  • Immense storage potential: The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) estimates that the underground reservoirs can contain 12-22 billion tons of CO2, equivalent to up to 700 times Denmark’s annual emissions. This immense potential makes it a strategic priority to develop the CCS value chain and leverage Denmark’s extensive experience in the maritime industry.
  • Geological suitability: The Danish subsurface has been demonstrated to be particularly suitable for CO2 storage. The rock formations in the North Sea are stable and chemically inert, making them ideal for permanently and securely storing CO2.
  • Existing infrastructure: Denmark has a well-developed oil and gas infrastructure in the North Sea, which can be repurposed for CCS projects. This includes pipelines, platforms, and depleted oil and gas fields that can be used for CO2 storage.
  • Strategic location: Denmark’s location in Northern Europe makes it a strategic hub for CO2 storage. This allows Denmark to potentially serve as a commercial hub for CO2 storage from other European countries, helping to meet the growing demand for storage capacity in the region.

CO2 capture, transportation and storage chain  

The Bifrost Project aims to develop open-access infrastructure to connect European industrial hubs to offshore underground storage in the Danish North Sea. It will transport CO2 from emitters, of which hard-to-abate industries, and permanently store up to minimum 5 million tons of CO2 per year in its first phase.

The project is divided into two main phases:

Phase 1

Establishment of Danish key infrastructure elements with Harald West and Dagny as storage sites, starting in 2030.

Phase 2

Tie-in of the cross-border Denmark-Germany pipeline.

Our role is to focus on building a safe, reliable and flexible chain for emitters:

Transportation

The partners are developing CO2 transportation infrastructure for Project Bifrost. This network includes pipelines and ships, using both new and repurposed constructions to transport CO2 from industrial emitters to storage sites. Marine transport will also connect emitters, notably from Germany, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands and the Baltic states, to Danish offshore storage facilities.

Storage

Subject to evaluation work ongoing, we are developing a CO2 storage injection capacity of minimum 5 million tons of CO2 annually from 2030 in sites which include depleted oil and gas fields and saline aquifer structures.