TotalEnergies wins new license to develop CO₂ storage in the Danish North Sea
Copenhagen, 15 January, 2025
TotalEnergies has, together with its partners partners Mitsui and Nordsøfonden, been awarded a new permit to explore opportunities for CO₂ storage beneath the North Sea. The award of the Inez license marks another step in TotalEnergies’ strategy to develop Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) solutions, a key technology for reducing CO₂ emissions from hard-to-abate industries such as waste treatment, steel, and cement.
TotalEnergies will act as operator with a 65% interest in the partnership, alongside Mitsui (15%) and Nordsøfonden (20%).
The three license areas for CO2 storage in the Danish North Sea.
The license area covers approximately 1,050 km², located about 55 km west of Vorupør on Denmark’s west coast, and comprises a saline aquifer in a sandstone formation. It is expected to potentially store up to 10 million tons of CO₂ annually from 2035, helping Denmark and EU meet their climate targets. This potential will be tested in the coming period through technical studies, including drilling a new well down to the reservoir located 1,800 meters below the seabed.
"We are pleased to have been awarded a new CCS license in Denmark. This is an important step in our ambition to develop Denmark’s potential as a European hub for CO₂ storage. With this license, we can build on our existing activities and make a concrete contribution to realizing one of the essential climate solutions available to society,” says Martin Rune Pedersen, Country Chair TotalEnergies Denmark.
TotalEnergies already holds two CCS licenses in the Danish North Sea. The ambition is to build a robust offshore CO₂ portfolio capable of handling large-scale storage from 2030 and beyond, and to scale up as the CCS market matures in hard-to-abate sectors.
At the same time, TotalEnergies brings international experience from projects such as Northern Lights in Norway, Aramis in the Netherlands, and Northern Endurance Partnership in the United Kingdom – all playing key roles in advancing modern CO₂ storage. Northern Lights was the first and currently only commercial CO₂ storage provider in Europe and has e.g. been selected for storage of Danish CO₂ from the power plants in Avedøre and Asnæs.
Facts about the Bifrost CO₂ storage projects:
| Licenses | Project Bifrost comprises three offshore CO₂ storage development licenses: Dagny, Harald, and Inez. |
| Ownership structure | Dagny and Harald licenses: TotalEnergies 45% (operator), CarbonVault (a Danish subsidiary to the German cement company Schwenk) 35%, Nordsøfonden 20%. Inez license: TotalEnergies 65% (operator), Mitsui 15%, Nordsøfonden 20%. |
| Geological storage complexes | Dagny and Harald: The storage complexes comprise saline aquifers and depleted gas fields in sandstone formations. Inez: The storage complex comprises a saline aquifer in a sandstone formation. |
| Location and area | All licenses are in the Danish North Sea, covering 3168 km². |
Read more about Project Bifrost via the website: www.Bifrost-CCS.com.
About TotalEnergies in Denmark
TotalEnergies has operated in Denmark for over 50 years and is among the country’s leading energy companies producing more than 80% of the oil and 90% of the gas in the Danish North Sea. With approximately 1,200 employees based in Copenhagen, Esbjerg, and offshore locations, the Company makes a significant contribution to Denmark’s energy supply, economy, and employment. As a multi-energy business, TotalEnergies is developing a renewables portfolio, including offshore wind projects with a capacity of 405 MW, and advancing its Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) initiatives in support of Europe’s low-carbon transition.