Posted on September 23, 2024
In a new agreement, Ørsted will sell carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits amounting to 330,000 tonnes of CO2 to Equinor over a ten-year period. This is part of Ørsted’s CO2 capture and storage project, ‘Ørsted Kalundborg CO2 Hub’, which will capture 430,000 tonnes of biogenic CO2 annually from two of Ørsted’s biomass-fired CHP plants from 2026. The CO2 that is captured comes from sustainable biomass and will be permanently stored under the North Sea seabed. In this way, CO2 will be removed from the atmosphere and contribute to negative emissions.
The sale of CDR credits contributes to the realisation of the ‘Ørsted Kalundborg CO2 Hub’, as biomass-based carbon capture and storage is still at an early stage of development and associated with high costs. The sale of CDR credits and support from the Danish Energy Agency have therefore been crucial to the financing of the project.
Contributing to a functioning voluntary carbon market, as exemplified by this agreement, is part of Equinor’s strategy to reduce its net scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50 % by the end of 2030 compared to 2015 levels. A maximum of 10 % of this target may be achieved through CDR credits, and at least 90 % of this target must be achieved through absolute reductions.
Ole Thomsen, Senior Vice President and Head of Ørsted’s Bioenergy business, says:
“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’re pleased to expand the collaboration through this agreement on the sale of CDR credits.”
Ørsted’s partner Northern Lights, which is responsible for storing CO2 in the subsurface, is also owned by Equinor, among others.
Svein Skeie, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Business Development at Equinor, says:
“We’re 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.”
About Ørsted
The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, renewable hydrogen and green fuels facilities, and bioenergy plants. Ørsted is recognised on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action and was the first energy company in the world to have its science-based net-zero emissions target validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs approx. 8,400 people. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2023, the group’s revenue was DKK 79.3 billion (EUR 10.6 billion). Visit orsted.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X.
