A world-leading CO2 storage facility

Documented safe and effective CO2 storage in the North Sea

CO2 storage now and for the future

The world is transitioning to a low-carbon economy. It’s a shift that demands fundamental changes in how we produce and use energy. From 2040, the European Commission estimates that 250 million tonnes of CO₂ will need to be captured and stored annually to meet the EU's climate goals. CCS is also considered a key technology in reaching the Danish 2045 net-zero targets.

And with rising costs and global competition, CCS also offers a route for energy-intensive industry to decarbonise while protecting European production, investment, skills and jobs.

Greensand connects capture, ship-based transport and permanent offshore storage, proving the full chain can operate commercially in the EU and provides a platform that is ready to scale.

Project Timeline

In its first phase commercial phase, Greensand aims to offer storage of 400,000 tonnes of biogenic CO₂ per year - large volumes of which are readily available. Scaling operations in the coming years will see both biogenic and fossil CO₂ stored with an ambition to reach full capacity of 4 to 8 mtpa stored by 2030.

Demonstrating the first full value chain for CO₂ storage

The Greensand pilot was the first in the world to capture CO2, transport it across a border and safely store it in an underground reservoir.

Commercial development

Securing partners and FID to initiate industrial operation

Commercial phase - Greensand

Storing up to 0.4 mtpa of captured biogenic CO2 from biomethane production

Scaling operations

Building and strengthening the CCS value chain to drive up storage volumes

Full capacity – biogenic and fossil CO₂

Storing 4-8 mtpa biogenic or fossil CO2

Demonstrating the first full value chain for CO₂ storage

The Greensand pilot was the first in the world to capture CO2, transport it across a border and safely store it in an underground reservoir.

Commercial development

Securing partners and FID to initiate industrial operation

Commercial phase - Greensand

Storing up to 0.4 mtpa of captured biogenic CO2 from biomethane production

Scaling operations

Building and strengthening the CCS value chain to drive up storage volumes

Full capacity – biogenic and fossil CO₂

Storing 4-8 mtpa biogenic or fossil CO2

Storing CO2 in the North Sea

Greensand provides safe and effective CO2 storage in a suited geological reservoir 1,800 meters below the seabed, some 200 km off the Danish west coast.

In the first commercial phase, CO₂ will come primarily from Danish biomethane production. The will be CO₂ captured and liquefied at industrial emitters, transported to the CO₂ terminal at Port Esbjerg, shipped onwards with the EU's first dedicated CO₂ carrier vessel, Carbon Destroyer 1, and permanently stored offshore beneath the North Sea.

We are currently working with Port Esbjerg along with many other actors in the CCS value chain including biogas producers. We are continuously exploring new partnership opportunities which can help strengthen the CCS value chain - from capture, transport and storage.

How does CCS work?

The Greensand value chain

Capture

CO₂ is captured at large point sources, separated from the flue gas and liquefied. It is then loaded into a tank container, designed specifically for the safe transport of liquefied CO2.

CO2 Terminal Port Esbjerg

At the CO₂ Terminal in Port Esbjerg, the liquefied CO₂ is loaded into one of the six holding tanks for temporary storage. The CO₂ Terminal has a capacity of 6,000 tonnes and can handle 60 to 72 trucks per day.

Transport

Once the tanks are full, the liquefied CO₂ is transferred to Carbon Destroyer 1, the EU's first dedicated offshore CO₂ carrier vessel. The carrier has a capacity of approximately 5,300 tonnes and completes the voyage from Port Esbjerg to the Greensand reservoir and back in approximately three days.

Permanent storage

At the Greensand site, Carbon Destroyer 1 sends the liquefied CO₂ through the offshore infrastructure – all the way through the subsoil to the reservoir, 1,800 metres below the seabed – for safe and permanent storage.

Capture

CO₂ is captured at large point sources, separated from the flue gas and liquefied. It is then loaded into a tank container, designed specifically for the safe transport of liquefied CO2.

CO2 Terminal Port Esbjerg

At the CO₂ Terminal in Port Esbjerg, the liquefied CO₂ is loaded into one of the six holding tanks for temporary storage. The CO₂ Terminal has a capacity of 6,000 tonnes and can handle 60 to 72 trucks per day.

Transport

Once the tanks are full, the liquefied CO₂ is transferred to Carbon Destroyer 1, the EU's first dedicated offshore CO₂ carrier vessel. The carrier has a capacity of approximately 5,300 tonnes and completes the voyage from Port Esbjerg to the Greensand reservoir and back in approximately three days.

Permanent storage

At the Greensand site, Carbon Destroyer 1 sends the liquefied CO₂ through the offshore infrastructure – all the way through the subsoil to the reservoir, 1,800 metres below the seabed – for safe and permanent storage.

Verified safe, permanent storage

Greensand provides safe and permanent CO2 storage in a suited geological reservoir, building on more than two years of research and tests in collaboration with authorities and industry leaders.

The integrity of the Greensand Nini reservoir in the North Sea has been tested by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), and Greensand has received safety approval from the world-leading independent verifier DNV.

Trom a geological perspective, tests firmly demonstrate that the Greensand storage facilities in the North Sea (the Siri fairway) are extremely stable reservoirs. They have retained gas and oil for more than 10 million years, making them a very safe permanent storage site for CO2.

Proven efficacy in GHG avoidance

Greensand delivers effective CO₂ storage with approx. 94% greenhouse gas avoidance, meaning most emissions are captured and stored, while 6% comes from operating the value chain. This figure is based on a detailed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) using conservative energy estimates for liquefaction, transport, and storage. 

The LCA is rooted in a peer-reviewed published paper, which considers both current and future storage volume and point source scenarios as the project scales and matures, following the standardised method for LCA ref. ISO14040/44. As such, it offers a solid calculation on the projected carbon footprint of the entire scope of Greensand, including storage volumes of up to 8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). As new technologies emerge, we expect to further reduce the carbon footprint of operations, enhancing the project’s effectiveness in mitigating climate change.

For a detailed description of the methodology used to conduct the LCA, as well as a transparent discussion of the assumptions and uncertainties inherent in any LCA, please refer to the paper which can be found here.

What is Greensand offering?

Please find Greensand’s Heads of Terms here.

Download the terms

FAQ

Greensand is the first CO₂ storage site in the European Union to reach full-scale operation, defined as an operational storage project injecting more than 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. This assessment is supported by the Global CCS Institute’s Global Status of CCS report and project database, as well as the European Commission’s work on EU CO₂ storage capacity. Greensand has moved beyond demonstration scale and is now operating as a full-scale CO₂ storage facility within the EU.

The storage license holders behind Greensand are INEOS Energy Denmark, Harbour Energy and the Danish State Subsurface Resource Company Nordsøfonden.

Greensand offers CO2 storage as a service for companies that want to help accelerate the development of a crucial climate technology and support their own decarbonisation journey by carbon removal credits. We are also offering actors along the CCS value chain (for example emitters, transporters and ports) the opportunity to partner with us and help scale the project as volumes of captured CO2 increases.

Greensand provides safe and effective CO2 storage in a suited geological reservoir 1,800 meters below the seabed some 200 off the Danish west coast. From a geological perspective, the Greensand storage facilities in the North Sea (the Siri fairway) are extremely stable reservoirs. They have retained gas and oil for more than 10 million years, making them a very safe permanent storage site for CO2. The integrity of the reservoir has been tested by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), and Greensand has been independently verified by DNV.

Greensand holds a full storage permit under the EU CCS Directive.

In its first commercial phase, Greensand stores up to 0.4 million tonnes of biogenic CO₂ per year from biomethane production – large volumes of which are readily available. In later phases, the CO2 will come from both biogenic and fossil sources. 

The companies behind Greensand - the current storage license holders (IRIS) - are INEOS Energy Denmark, Harbour Energy and the Danish State Subsurface Resource Company Nordsøfonden. Greensand works with several partners to ensure residual CO2 can be captured, transported to harbour sites, and sailed to the North Sea for permanent storage. 

Greensand is the first CO₂ storage site in the European Union to reach full-scale operation, defined as an operational storage project injecting more than 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. This assessment is supported by the Global CCS Institute’s Global Status of CCS report and project database, as well as the European Commission’s work on EU CO₂ storage capacity. Greensand has moved beyond demonstration scale and is now operating as a full-scale CO₂ storage facility within the EU. Read more in the factsheet.

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