Norway’s Bold CO₂ Bet: A Storage Highway for Europe

Norway's Longship project lets Europe ship and store CO₂, offering fast relief from rising emissions pressure.

28 Jul 2025

Norway has opened the first international carbon capture and storage (CCS) network, offering European industries a shared route to reduce emissions without developing their own infrastructure. The Longship project, backed by €2bn in public funding, allows carbon dioxide to be captured at industrial sites across Europe, shipped to Norway, and stored beneath the North Sea.

The system’s first customer, Heidelberg Materials, is already transporting captured carbon from its cement plant in Brevik. The storage facility, operated by Northern Lights, a joint venture between Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies, is designed to be open access, enabling multiple emitters to use the infrastructure. Stockholm Exergi has signed on as an international customer, alongside earlier agreements with fertiliser producer Yara and Danish energy company Ørsted.

The initiative marks a shift in European climate infrastructure, centralising storage capacity to help countries with limited geological options meet tightening emissions targets. With the EU’s carbon price near €71 per tonne, shared solutions like Longship offer a cost-effective alternative to domestic investment.

“The model allows companies to cut emissions without waiting for new local infrastructure,” said a person familiar with the project. “It lowers entry barriers and accelerates deployment.”

Phase two of Longship is already under way, expanding its storage capacity and extending its customer base. The project is expected to serve as a blueprint for future cross-border CCS networks, as more companies seek compliance pathways toward net zero targets.

While cross-border shipping of CO₂ still faces regulatory and logistical hurdles, analysts say the economic case is improving. Demand for scalable carbon storage is likely to rise as EU climate rules tighten and more industries come under emissions constraints.

The launch of Longship suggests Europe may favour regional integration over national CCS efforts. Norway’s role as a central storage hub is shaping a collaborative approach to industrial decarbonisation, one that prioritises shared infrastructure over isolated development.