Equinor has entered into an agreement with Denmark’s Ørsted to purchase 330,000 carbon dioxide removal credits, equating to 330,000 tonnes of CO2, over a 10-year period, with an expected start in 2026. The CO2, captured from a biomass-fired power station using waste straw, will be transported to the Northern Lights CO2 storage facility offshore Norway. This process involves the capture of biogenic CO2 generated from the combustion of sustainable biomass for heat and power production, resulting in the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As a result, CDR credits can be generated and sold.
Under this agreement, Equinor will buy CDR credits from a unit at the Avedøre Power Station near Copenhagen, which is powered by waste straw. The captured CO2 will be transported overland to Ørsted’s CO2 hub in Kalundborg, western Zealand, before being sent to the Northern Lights CO2 storage site. This hub is scheduled to become operational in 2026.
As the world moves towards net-zero goals, carbon capture and storage and carbon removal technologies are increasingly recognised as essential tools. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage is one such solution, and this agreement between Equinor and Ørsted highlights how CDR credits can support carbon removal projects and assist private entities in achieving their net-zero targets.
Svein Skeie, senior vice president of strategy and business development at Equinor, expressed satisfaction with the expanded collaboration, noting: “We are very pleased to expand our cooperation with Ørsted to also include CDR credits. We both share the belief that building markets enabling the physical reduction and removal of carbon will play a role in reducing emissions.”
In a related development, Equinor, Ørsted, and the state-owned Nordsøfonden were recently granted a permit to conduct surveys for a potential onshore CO2 storage facility in northwest Zealand. This project aims to explore whether the site can be developed into a safe and permanent CO2 storage location.
Ole Thomsen, senior vice president and head of Ørsted’s Bioenergy business, remarked: “Equinor shares Ørsted’s commitment to maturing carbon capture and storage technologies. We already have a partnership with Equinor and Nordsøfonden to explore the possibility of storing CO2 in the subsurface, and we are pleased to expand the collaboration through this agreement on the sale of CDR credits.”
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