- Groundbreaking marks key milestone for Carbon Capture and Storage
establishing Denmark as a European hub for safe and permanent CO₂ storage. - “This is a key milestone for Greensand and an important step in creating the EU’s first full CCS value chain. Carbon capture and storage will be critical to achieving climate targets. Today’s groundbreaking sends a clear signal to carbon capture projects across Denmark and Europe that we are moving forward,” says Mads Gade, CEO, INEOS Energy Europe.
- The terminal will feature six large holding tanks, each capable of storing approximately 1,000 tonnes of liquefied CO₂ to be shipped for permanent storage in the Greensand reservoir. The site will also include the necessary infrastructure for offloading and shipping CO₂.
- “The new terminal in Esbjerg unlocks the development of CCS in both Denmark and Europe. For us at the port, this is just the beginning of a new reality where CCS will play an increasingly important role,” says Dennis Jul Pedersen, CEO of Port of Esbjerg.
Today, construction starts on Greensand’s Carbon Dioxide transit terminal at Port Esbjerg in Denmark. Once operational, the terminal will be a critical component in what is expected to become the EU’s first CO₂ storage facility aimed at mitigating climate change.
Construction in Port Esbjerg is expected to complete in the Autumn this year, at which point INEOS Energy will take over the operation the first gateway for CCS logistics in EU, on behalf of the Greensand consortium.
Greensand has secured liquefied CO₂ from several Danish biogas plants. Once captured, the CO₂ will be transported by truck to the terminal in Esbjerg, where it will be temporarily stored.
When the tanks are full, the liquefied CO₂ will be loaded onto a dedicated carrier from Royal Wagenborg and shipped to the INEOS Nini platform in the Danish North Sea. From there, it will be safely injected via pipeline into subsurface reservoirs approximately 1,800 meters beneath the seabed for permanent storage.
Denmark's leading role in climate solutions and green jobs
In December 2024, INEOS and its partners Harbour Energy and Nordsøfonden made the Final Investment Decision (FID) to launch the commercial phase of Greensand. This paves the way for expected investments of over DKK 1 billion to scale the storage capacity across the CCS value chain.
With plans to initiate offshore injection at the end of 2025 or beginning of 2026, Greensand is set to become the EU’s first operational CO₂ storage site designed to mitigate climate change.
The European Commission estimates that by 2040, the EU will need to store 250 million tonnes of CO₂ annually to meet the Paris Agreement targets. CCS is also considered a key technology for reaching Denmark’s 2045 net-zero goals.
The economic potential is significant: if Denmark captures just 5% of the European CCS market, it could create up to 9,000 jobs and generate an economic impact of DKK 50 billion.
“Port of Esbjerg already plays a key role in the green transition in Denmark and Europe. With the construction of this terminal, the port is well on its way to becoming a central hub for CO₂ capture and storage in the EU – supporting both the climate and the economy,” says Mads Gade.
Denmark holds a unique position thanks to the particularly well-suited geology of the North Sea seabed.
“We’re proud to support Greensand’s ambitious progress. This is one of the most advanced CCS projects globally. By leveraging Denmark’s unique subsurface, Esbjerg can help meet future CO₂ storage needs across Europe,” says Dennis Jul Pedersen.
ENDS
Press Contacts:
Greensand Future: Peter Zacher (peter.zacher@gknordic.com) +45 31 10 96 81
Port of Esbjerg: Troels Widding tw@radiuscph.dk +45 26 12 00 95
Digital Assets:
Images, B-Roll, Factsheets, and Infographics can be found on the Greensand website.
About Greensand Future:
The companies behind Greensand are the current holders of the storage license (IRIS) – INEOS Energy Denmark, Harbour Energy, and Nordsøfonden, which is the Danish state’s subsurface company. Greensand also collaborates with a range of partners to ensure that CO₂ is captured, transported, and stored safely and permanently in the North Sea’s subsurface.
Initially, Greensand Future aims to capture, transport, and store 400,000 tons of CO₂ per year, with the potential to gradually increase storage capacity towards 2030. As captured CO₂ volumes rise, there is potential for safe and permanent storage of up to 8,000,000 tons of CO₂ annually.
On March 8, 2023, the INEOS-led pilot project Greensand became the first in the world to transport CO₂ across international borders for safe and permanent offshore storage as part of climate change mitigation efforts. This milestone was marked when His Majesty King Frederik of Denmark officially initiated the first CO₂ storage at the Nini Field during the pilot phase of Project Greensand.
Learn more about Greensand on the official website: https://greensandfuture.com/
Fact box: Greensand CCS Value Chain:
- CO2 is captured at Danish biogas plants and liquified.
- The liquified CO2 is transported by trucks to CO2 Terminal Port Esbjerg.
- The CO2 is temporarily stores in six dedicated tanks at CO2 Terminal Port Esbjerg.
- The liquified CO2 is loaded onto a dedicated CO2 carrier from Royal Wagenborg
- The vessel sails to the INEOS-operated Nini-field in the Danish part of the North Sea.
- The liquified CO2 is injected for safe and permanent storage into the reservoir 1.800 metres below the seabed.
About Port Esbjerg:
https://portesbjerg.dk
Port of Esbjerg is Denmark’s leading offshore port, a Northern European logistics hub, and one of the world’s largest shipping ports for wind turbines. Each year, up to 1,500 MW of offshore wind is shipped from the Port of Esbjerg. The port handles an annual cargo volume of 4.3 million tonnes, with more than 6,000 ship calls per year. It is home to over 200 companies employing approximately 10,000 people. Covering an area of more than 4.5 million square metres, the Port of Esbjerg is the largest port in Denmark by land area.
About INEOS
https://www.ineos.com/
INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil products. In 25 years, the Company has grown into a global player: its production network spans 183 sites in 26 countries throughout the world employing more than 26,000 people. INEOS Energy operates the Siri field area and the South Arne and the Solsort in Denmark. INEOS operates the leading carbon storage project in Denmark – Project Greensand – which is a pioneering carbon capture and storage CCS) initiative aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by capturing CO2 and securely storing it in depleted oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
About Harbour Energy
https://www.harbourenergy.com/
Since its creation in 2014, Harbour has grown to become one of the world’s largest and most geographically diverse independent oil and gas companies. Today, Harbour has significant production in Norway, the UK, Germany, Argentina and North Africa. Harbour benefits from competitive operating costs and resilient margins, and a broad set of growth options including near-infrastructure opportunities in Norway, unconventional scalable opportunities in Argentina and conventional offshore projects in Mexico and Indonesia. With low GHG emissions intensity and a leading CO2 storage position in Europe, Harbour remains committed to producing oil and gas safely and responsibly to help meet the world’s energy needs. Harbour is headquartered in London with approximately 5,000 staff and contractors across its operations and offices.
About Nordsøfonden
https://eng.nordsoefonden.dk/
Nordsøfonden is the Danish state company tasked with generating value for Danish society by optimising the potential of Denmark’s subsurface assets. Nordsøfonden stands on two pillars; production of oil & gas, thereby helping ensure supplies of energy and raw materials, whilst at the same time participating in all licenses for underground carbon storage, where Nordsøfonden works to ensure reduction of emissions to the atmosphere.