Horizon Energy has entered into an option agreement with Haugaland Næringspark to locate its land-based CO2 terminal for carbon capture in Gismarvik. The terminal is part of the "Errai" storage project, the first commercial CO2 storage project in Norway. The project could have a major impact on the development of the carbon market in Europe, and is a collaboration between Horizon Energy and Neptune Energy.
- "We are pleased to announce this agreement with Haugaland Næringspark after a thorough process to find a suitable site for this major carbon capture and storage project. This will be an exciting contribution to the work of developing new green industry and infrastructure in Rogaland, and in Norway. "We see increasing demand for CO2 storage and want to build a European value chain in the carbon capture and storage market. It can play a key role in the transition to net zero emissions," says Bjørgulf Haukelidsæter Eidesen, Director of Horizon Energy.
CO2 hub in large infrastructure
Haugaland Business Park is Norway's largest pre-zoned industrial area, with much of the infrastructure already in place, including access to fiber, electricity, water and sewage, and a large harbor basin with a deep-water quay, ideal for the Errai project. The terminal at Gismarvik will receive CO2 from both European and Norwegian customers, including from the planned CO2 shipping terminal in the port of Rotterdam.
In addition to the onshore terminal for interim storage of CO2, the Errai project will also include an associated offshore reservoir for permanent storage of CO2. Horizon Energy and Neptune Energy have already submitted an application to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to store CO2 in the announced area on the Norwegian continental shelf, and any license award from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy will be announced during the first half of 2023. The project is scheduled to come on stream in 2026.
Errai will initially receive between four and eight million tons of CO2 per year, with the possibility of storing more in later phases of the project. Horizon Energy recently announced that E.ON will store 1 million tons of CO2 annually, becoming the first major CO2 customer in the project. The CO2 terminal at the Port of Gismarvik will mean new industrial opportunities for both Haugaland Næringspark and other industries on Haugalandet.
One stop shop
- "It is a pleasure to start the year by consolidating Haugalandet and Rogaland as the center of the green shift in Norway. CO2 management will be necessary to transform the industry in the years to come, and this agreement ensures that Haugalandet now becomes one of the world's first regions with this infrastructure in place. The establishment does not require the largest areas in the business park, but is of enormous importance for the decarbonization and transition of existing industry - and to facilitate new green industrial establishments and jobs. "This collaboration will give a boost to the entire region and make us a one-stop shop for new industrial establishments. We look forward to the continued dialog with industrial players who now see even more opportunities with us," says Tiril Fjeld, general manager of Haugaland Næringspark.
Horizon Energy and Neptune Energy aim to deliver a project that meets all future environmental requirements, helping to set a standard for such facilities and thereby becoming a reference project for CO2 storage in a Norwegian and European context.
About Haugaland Business Park
Haugaland Business Park is Norway's largest fully regulated industrial area, with a total of 5,000 hectares set aside for the industries of the future. The five owner municipalities (Haugesund, Karmøy, Tysvær, Bokn and Vindafjord) have spent 20 years regulating the area and establishing infrastructure such as roads, water, fiber and their own deep-water quay. With ample access to both regulated industrial space and electricity in the years ahead, and with a central location in an industrially strong region with sustainable logistics solutions and a short distance to Europe, Haugaland Business Park is an ideal location for many of the power and space-intensive industries of the future.