Denmark's King Frederik X inaugurated the Greensand project, the first industrial-scale undersea carbon dioxide storage facility in the European Union. Located at a decommissioned oil field in the North Sea, the site will store up to 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year after a pilot phase that stored 15,000 tonnes annually. The project, led by INEOS with partners Harbour Energy and Nordsøfonden, demonstrates that CO2 can be captured, transported, and permanently stored beneath the seabed. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is seen as critical for tackling unavoidable emissions like those from cement production, but critics warn it could distract from reducing emissions at the source. Cost remains a major barrier, with experts noting that cheaper alternatives exist. The EU's energy commissioner called the launch an important milestone, and the facility could eventually expand to store 4-8 million tonnes per year, though that still represents a tiny fraction of Europe's total emissions.
