Two short years after completing the pilot phase of Europe’s first cross-border carbon capture, transport, and storage project, partners Ineos Energy, Harbour Energy and Nordsøfonden, the Danish North Sea Fund, joined His Majesty King Frederik X of Denmark and European industry and policy leaders in Esbjerg to officially inaugurate Greensand, the EU’s first full-scale CO₂ storage site and CCS value chain. The ceremony marked the facility’s move into commercial operation.

Greensand expects to store up to 400,000 tonnes of CO2 annually in this first commercial phase, scaling toward a potential of up to 4–8 million tonnes annually at full capacity.

Initially, much of the captured CO₂ will come from Danish biomethane plants. After capture, the CO₂ will be liquefied and transported by truck to a dedicated terminal at Esbjerg. From there, the Carbon Destroyer 1, a purpose-built CO₂ carrier, will transport the liquefied carbon dioxide offshore. The project will then inject the CO₂ into the depleted Nini West oil reservoir, located approximately 250 kilometres off Denmark’s coast and around 1,800 metres beneath the seabed.

Mads Gade, CEO of INEOS Energy Europe, said, “Greensand starts with biogenic CO2, but its significance reaches far beyond that first step. We are ready to expand capacity to receive CO2 from industries across Europe. Greensand is open for business, and a new European market for permanent CO2 storage can now begin to take shape.”

Said Dan Jørgensen, European commissioner for energy and housing, “Today marks an important milestone for Europe. With the launch, here in Esbjerg, of the first fully operational site for offshore carbon storage in the European Union, we prove that carbon storage is a practical reality. We show that we can move from demonstration to deployment. We set out a path for European industries: to continue their transition to a low-carbon future, while maintaining production, investments, and employment in our continent. And we open a new front in the existential fight against climate change.”

As reported by Chemical Industry Digest, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland has tested the Greensand storage reservoir. In addition, independent verifier DNV has provided safety approval, according to the project developers.