France and Norway have signed a new bilateral agreement enabling the cross-border transport and offshore geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂).

The agreement was signed in Oslo by French Minister of Economy, Éric Lombard, and Norwegian Minister of Energy, Terje Aasland. It will enable industrial emissions from the French steel, chemical, and petroleum sectors to be shipped from major ports to Norway where they will be stored on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in the North Sea.

Energy News reports that the two major projects notably concerned by this agreement are Northern Lights and CO₂ Highway Europe. Northern Lights has been operational since September 2024, is jointly managed by Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, and has an initial storage capacity of 1.5 million tons of CO₂ per year.

Equinor’s CO₂ Highway Europe project plans to establish an underwater CO₂ transport network connecting several European ports, including Dunkirk and Zeebrugge, to Smeaheia and other CO₂ reservoirs on the Norwegian continental shelf. There will be flexibility for future branch connections to the Netherlands and other European countries. The initial capacity will be 18 million tonnes of CO₂ per year with the potential to be further boosted to 27 million tonnes depending on market interest.

The agreement is viewed as an important step toward establishing a common European market for carbon capture and storage (CCS). Speaking at the signing ceremony, Norway’s Minister of Energy said, “This arrangement is a breakthrough for European climate cooperation. It demonstrates how we can work together to find practical solutions for cutting emissions and securing the future of industry in a low-carbon society.”