EU2NSEA: A major new European cross-border CO₂ pipeline network with storage in the North Sea

The Norwegian energy company Equinor (as coordinator for the PCI), the Belgian energy infrastructure operator Fluxys and the German energy company Wintershall Dea, together with a dedicated group of affiliated companies are cooperating on developing a project to establish a major cross-border CO₂ network infrastructure called the EU2NSEA project.

The scope of EU2NSEA includes open infrastructural components along the entire CO₂ capture, transport and storage chain:

1. Capture at industrial emission sites in 8 EU member states.
2. CO₂ collection networks and hubs in 5 EU member states and 1 third country linking industrial emission sites to 2 central CO₂ transhipment hubs/conditioning export terminals; including inland pipelines interconnecting industrial CO₂ emission clusters to the CO₂ collection hubs, and facilities for receiving liquid CO₂ by ship, barge or train, and further pre-conditioning, compression, and liquefaction equipment for cross-border transport.
3. CO₂ transshipment hubs/conditioning export terminals in Zeebrugge (BE) and Wilhelmshaven (GE) for collection, receiving, preconditioning, compression, and liquefaction equipment of CO₂ for further cross-border transport.
4. Dedicated high-pressure CO₂ transport pipeline infrastructure from export terminals in Zeebrugge (BE) and Wilhelmshaven (GE) to storage sites in the North Sea (NO).
5. Storage sites in the North Sea (NO) for the permanent safe geological storage of CO₂, comprising sub-sea infrastructure and infrastructure within the geological formation.

The setup of the project will allow for flexible future expansions with additional CO₂ sources, increasing the handling capacity of the CO2 collection hubs or connecting additional CO₂ collection hubs and other CO₂ storage sites, supporting emitters in the whole of North-West Europe to decarbonise their processes on a large scale before the end of this decade.

The project location, the North Sea Basin, is proven to be highly suitable for storing CO₂. Moreover, a significant part of the European CO₂ emissions is generated by emitters located on the coasts of this basin. Nonetheless, the geographical reach of the project is much larger, as CO₂ can be shipped in from neighbouring hubs, or transported from inland continental emission locations via pipeline, truck, rail, barge or ship and connected to the CO₂ collection hubs. This will offer emitters in the whole North-West Europe and the Baltics a robust and flexible solution for large-scale decarbonisation before the end of this decade.

The cross-border pipeline network solution aims to provide resilience and security of CO₂ transport by having a dedicated, high-capacity pipeline infrastructure (20-40 Mtpa CO₂) in place that can operate with high regularity. It provides much needed essential evacuation capacity of CO₂ from industrial emitters in North-West Europe and is planned to be operational from 2029.

The emission reductions associated with this project will directly contribute towards the national targets in 8 EU Member States, 1 third country and to EU wide emission reduction targets.

The offshore pipeline between Belgium and Norway is currently on the following schedule:

• Start of feasibility study Q1 2024
• Completion of feasibility study Q4 2024
• Start of FEED (Front End Engineering & Design) Q1 2025
• Completion of FEED Q4 2025
• Permitting date of request Q4 2025
• Final investment decision Q4 2025
• Start of construction Q1 2026
• Completion of construction and commissioning Q4 2029
• Entry into operation 2029
  

Project of Common Interest ‘EU2NSEA’ is project 13.8 in first EU list of Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) and Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs)

Date website last updated: 19/04/2024