Equinor secures exploration permit for CO₂ storage in Denmark
Equinor has been awarded its first CCS exploration permit in Denmark as operator, together with partners Ørsted and Nordsøfonden. The partnership will start surveys to assess if the onshore licence in the North West Zealand can be developed into a safe CO2 storage facility.
The partners were today awarded permit holders for the project named CO2 Storage Kalundborg, with a reservoir approximately 1400 meters below ground, and with a potential capacity to store up to 12 million tons of CO2 per year.
If the partnership over the next years successfully develops the permit into a CO2 storage facility approved by the Danish authorities, it could start storage of CO2 at the end of this decade.
“We are delighted to receive this exploration permit together with Ørsted and Nordsøfonden. Developing large-scale CO2 solutions is critical for hard-to-abate industries to reduce emissions while maintaining industrial activity and value creation. Our first important task in the project is to ensure that environmental requirements are met before seismic and subsurface data collection can start. The exploration phase will last several years, before the Danish authorities approves the licence area as suitable for safe and permanent CO2 storage,” says Grete Tveit, senior vice president for Low Carbon Solutions in Equinor.
Operator Equinor holds a 60 per cent share in the awarded exploration licence, with partner Ørsted having a 20 percent stake, and the Danish state participating through Nordsøfonden with a 20 percent equity.
Equinor expects a 4-8 per cent real base project return for its early phase CO2 storage business, and further value uplift potential when commercial markets are developed.
“We will use our experience from safely storing CO2 on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for nearly 30 years and other CCS developments when exploring the permit in Denmark. Maturing more CO2 storage capacity aligns with our ambition of having 30 to 50 million tonnes of CO2 transport and storage capacity per year by 2035. A CO2 storage facility near Ørsted’s existing infrastructure is a good fit, as we are combining our strong capabilities as industry partners to establish a complete end-to-end CO2 capture, transport and storage value chain,” says Tveit.
The awarded licence is located near Ørsted’s established shipping and storage terminal, Ørsted Kalundborg CO2 hub. Here the Danish energy company is constructing a CO2 capture facility at the Asnæs Power Plant, which is set to become operational from the beginning of 2026, with CO2 ship export to the Northern Lights storage facility in Norway. Ørsted’s terminal with its strategic position and scale will be a key component for reception and transport of CO2 to the potential CO2 storage facility the partnership will explore.
“We are pleased that we, along with Equinor and Nordsøfonden, have been awarded a licence to explore whether the area in the municipality of Kalundborg is suitable for carbon storage. From 2026, we will capture 430,000 tonnes of biogenic CO2 from two of our combined heat and power plants, and being part of this collaboration is a natural next step in building our Ørsted Kalundborg CO2 Hub, as we are already establishing the logistics, infrastructure, and terminal solutions necessary for handling CO2 at Kalundborg. In this way, we are a good partner to Equinor, who will be operating the CO2 storage site" says Ole Thomsen, senior vice president and head of Ørsted’s Bioenergy business.
Media contact:
- Equinor: Magnus Frantzen Eidsvold, mfei@equinor.com,
tel. +47 975 28 604 - Ørsted: Carsten Birkeland Kjær, cabkj@orsted.com,
tel +45 995 57 765
Facts
In 2023 The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) made five onshore areas in Denmark available for CCS applications and received this year interest from several companies that want to investigate storing of CO2 in the selected areas. Permits for subsurface exploration are initially granted for up to six years with the option of extension up to a total of ten years.
If the license area meets all environmental requirements and is deemed suitable for safe CO2 storage by the Danish authorities, the permit holder has priority to apply for a storage permit. The permit can last for up to 30 years with the possibility of extension. After that, the project will enter a closure phase where the wells are plugged and the CO2 in the subsurface is continuously monitored, according to the DEA.
Equinor in Denmark
Equinor opened an office in Copenhagen in January 2024 to build a strong foothold in the country, focusing on recruitment and business opportunities within the renewable energy industry and low carbon solutions. We are also present in Denmark through our subsidiaries Danske Commodities, an energy trading house, and the leading solar developer BeGreen.
