General – CO2 Transport
Equinor from Norway and French gas transmission operator GRTgaz signed a project development agreement (PDA) to establish a CO2 transport system.
According to Equinor, this initiative aims to transport captured CO2 from industrial sources in France to offshore storage sites in Norway through the CO2 Highway Europe pipeline project.
The project will involve the development of an onshore CO2 pipeline network by GRTgaz, spanning approximately 30 km in the Dunkirk industrial area of France. This network will integrate with Equinor’s CO2 Highway Europe, which extends from Zeebrugge, Belgium, to various seabed storage sites off Norway’s coast.
Focused on decarbonizing the Dunkirk industrial hub, responsible for about 20 percent of France’s industrial CO2 emissions, the initial phase will handle 3 to 5.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually. Future expansions aim to include CO2 from other industrial clusters across France.
Equinor and GRTgaz will collaborate on network planning, technical design, safety protocols, regulatory compliance, and institutional relations. Feasibility studies are currently ongoing, with basic engineering set to commence by late 2024 and operations targeted for commissioning by 2029.
“For industries that cannot decarbonise directly through clean power, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) offers a viable solution. By building CO2 transport and storage solutions at an industrial scale together with GRTgaz we can help carbon-intensive industries in France to continue developing and securing jobs and value creation in a sustainable future. The collaboration also strengthens the viability of the CO2 Highway Europe project as the French connection will further strengthen economies of scale,” said Grete Tveit, senior vice president Low carbon solutions, Equinor.
“GRTgaz is developing dedicated transmission networks contributing to transport CO2 from the French industrial sites where it is captured to storage and utilisation sites in France and Europe. Indeed, the capture, storage and utilisation of CO2 will play a major role in decarbonising the national and European economy, and infrastructure is an essential element in this CO2 value chain. We are proud to sign this partnership with Equinor and to share our respective and complementary expertise in order to provide France with an effective and competitive decarbonisation solution,” said Sandrine Meunier, CEO of GRTgaz.
