Norway has officially launched the Longship initiative, a pioneering Norway carbon capture project that aims to cut industrial CO2 emissions at scale. Backed by substantial government funding, this project sets a new benchmark for climate technology in Europe.
Norway has unveiled Longship, its landmark carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, positioning the country at the forefront of Europe’s climate innovation. Named after the iconic Viking ships, Longship is designed to create a full-scale carbon capture value chain—from emission source to permanent storage beneath the seabed.
The first stage of the project focuses on capturing emissions from Heidelberg Materials’ cement plant in Brevik, which will prevent 400,000 tonnes of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere each year. By 2029, the Hafslund Celsio waste incineration plant near Oslo is expected to add another 350,000 tonnes in annual capture capacity.
The captured CO₂ will be liquefied and transported by ship to a terminal in Øygarden, on Norway’s west coast. From there, it will be injected 2.6 km beneath the seabed into a saline aquifer, 110 km offshore, through infrastructure established under the Northern Lights project—a joint venture between Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies. This venture is touted as the world’s first commercial CO₂ transport and storage service.
The Norwegian government is contributing 22 billion kroner (around $2.2 billion) to support the project’s development and operation for the first 10 years, out of a total estimated cost of 34 billion kroner. Energy Minister Terje Aasland called the launch a “breakthrough for carbon capture and storage in Europe.”
International collaboration is also underway. Switzerland signed a bilateral agreement with Norway allowing for Swiss CO₂ to be stored in Norwegian facilities. The agreement will also facilitate trading of negative emissions between the two countries.
While CCS is recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as essential for reducing emissions from hard-to-abate industries, it remains costly. Without policy support, many companies opt to buy carbon credits rather than invest in capture technology. Today, global CCS capacity covers only about 50 million tonnes of CO₂—just 0.1% of global annual emissions.
With Longship, Norway hopes to lead by example, proving that large-scale CCS is not only technically feasible, but also scalable—with the right mix of public and private investment.