Storing in the deep

In May 2025, Norwegian authorities greenlit a project to store millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide deep under the North Sea. Over the next 25 years, project Northern Lights will transport and store 37.5 million tonnes of CO₂ captured by European industries, as part of Norway's commitment to Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The project will inject liquid CO₂ into a reservoir 2,600 metres below the seabed for permanent sequestration. 

This isn't Norway's first foray into offshore carbon storage. The Sleipner CCS project, also in the Norwegian North Sea, has been functional since 1996. It was the world's first industrial-scale offshore CO₂ storage project — one that has injected over 20 million tonnes of CO₂ into a saline aquifer so far. 

In Denmark, which too flanks the North Sea, Project Greensand has similar ambitions. By early 2026, it will start storing 400,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually in the North Sea subsurface. In five years, it intends to scale this to 8 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, stored at a depth of 1,800 m below the seabed. The project will pump CO₂ into depleted oil reservoirs. 

With these projects and then some, the ocean is emerging as a carbon storehouse.