EU's First Full-Scale CO2 Storage Site Opens in Denmark, Greensand Project Begins Commercial Operations

Denmark has officially opened the Greensand project, the European Union's first full-scale commercial CO2 storage facility. Led by INEOS Energy in partnership with Harbour Energy and the Danish state, the site can initially store up to 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, with expansion plans to reach 4-8 million tonnes annually. The CO2 is sourced from Danish biomethane plants, liquefied, transported by truck to Esbjerg, and then shipped offshore for injection into the depleted Nini West oil reservoir, 250 km off the coast and 1,800 meters below the seabed. This milestone supports Europe's broader CCS ambitions, which target at least 50 million tonnes of annual injection capacity by 2030 and 250-280 million by 2040. Greensand's operating infrastructure provides a template for using depleted North Sea reservoirs, potentially helping hard-to-abate industries like cement, steel, and chemicals cut process emissions. Independent verifier DNV has approved the safety of the storage reservoir, which has also undergone testing by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.