Hirtshals port advances towards an underground CO2 highway
Af Benita Dreyer-Andersen
Hirtshals Port has come one step closer to the dream of becoming a CO2 hub.
Wintershall Dea and Ineos, which are partners in the Greenport Scandinavia consortium that the port is also a member of, have been awarded the right to explore the possibilities for CO2 storage underground at Gassum, which is located between Randers and Hobro.
Based on these studies, it will be assessed whether CO2 can be stored underground.
The awarding of the Gassum license not only advances Greenport Scandinavia's vision but also supports the relevance for the expansion of Hirtshals Port. Per Holm Nørgaard, CEO of Hirtshals Port
Work is also underway on planning a pipeline for the transport of CO2 between Hirtshals Port and Gassum.
Hirtshals Port dreams of becoming central to the loading and unloading of CO2, and establishing itself as a hub with facilities for interim storage of CO2 on its way to underground storage both on land and at sea.
By 2026, CO2 is already to be stored in the Greensand area in the Danish part of the North Sea, with shipments from Hirtshals. With land-based storage under Gassum, it is expected that there will be the possibility to store at two locations with Hirtshals Port as the hub.
- The awarding of the Gassum license not only advances Greenport Scandinavia's vision but also supports the relevance for the expansion of Hirtshals Port. With this new license, we can now integrate both the outbound and inbound shipping of CO2 into the project, which significantly increases our total capacity. Having two storage sites means that we can handle much larger quantities of CO2, which is really exciting, says CEO of Hirtshals Port, Per Holm Nørgaard.
Dialogue with the major players
Hirtshals Port is advantageously positioned to receive CO2 from Germany, Sweden, Norway, and the Baltic countries, which lack the capability to store it underground on their own.
Dialogues are already in motion with many significant CO2 emitters, who anticipate the need for CO2 storage in the upcoming years and view Hirtshals Port as an ideal intermediary before the safe, permanent underground storage of CO2.
In May 2024, Germany unveiled a new CCS strategy and sees Denmark and the Greenport Scandinavia project as an integral component in enabling the storage of CO2 from German industry. Germany faces the challenge of storing approximately 80 million tons of CO2 annually, where Greensand and possibly Gassum could be utilized.
The partnership behind Greenport Scandinavia was initiated in December 2022. In December 2023, the European Commission's Just Transition Fund awarded 109 million DKK to the development of Greenport Scandinavia. This funding includes a grant for establishing an interim storage facility at Hirtshals Port, which is expected to be operational by 2026.
