Baker Hughes and Borg CO2 to collaborate on Norwegian CCS hub

Oilfield services major Baker Hughes and Norwegian carbon capture and storage developer Borg CO2 have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on a CCS project to serve as a hub for the decarbonization of industrial sites in the Viken region of Norway.

Baker Hughes said on Tuesday that the project would capture and store up to 90 per cent of the CO2 emissions from the involved industrial sites and contribute to the Paris Agreement goals, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the Norwegian national emissions reduction targets.

The Borg CO2 project includes several industry partners, as well as the Port of Borg, and aims to capture and store emissions from industrial facilities located in the cities of Fredrikstad, Sarpborg, and Halden. The combined industrial cluster is currently responsible for around 700,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

After being captured, the CO2 will be liquified, shipped, and eventually stored underneath the seabed of the North Sea. In April 2021, Borg CO2 and Northern Lights JV, the operator of the Northern Lights CCS project, signed a memorandum of understanding. The Northern Lights JV will provide shipping and storage of CO2 as a service provider for Borg CO2.

Borg CO2 and its partners have completed a first feasibility study and are proceeding with an extended feasibility study (pre-FEED) to be completed by the end of 2021 which Baker Hughes will support with its portfolio of carbon capture technologies and engineering services for the study and development of the hub.

Also, Baker Hughes and Borg CO2 will jointly evaluate the optimal structure for implementation of the carbon capture plants and pursue grant and incentive opportunities both in Norway and at the EU level.

Borg CO2’s ‘industrial cluster approach provides a prime opportunity for Baker Hughes to test and scale its wide-ranging carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies portfolio on several types of processes including its Chilled Ammonia Process (CAP) and Compact Carbon Capture (CCC) solutions.

Rod Christie, EVP of turbomachinery and process solutions at Baker Hughes, said: “Today, industrial clusters represent around 20 per cent of Europe’s CO2 emissions. Meaningful decarbonization is not possible without carbon capture, utilization and storage, and this collaboration demonstrates how CCUS technology is accelerating from concept toward commercialization with real-world impact.

“Our collaboration with Borg CO2 will accelerate the development of new energy frontiers like CCUS, and we believe it is critical to help them at an early stage by strategically supporting with our best-in-class technology”.

Tore Lundestad, managing director of Borg CO2 and harbour master for the port of Borg, added: “With the technical competencies and experience of Baker Hughes supporting us, we believe that Borg CO2 is better positioned to take the next steps towards commercialization and achieve our goals for the project.

“A project like this showcases a win-win approach where permanent storage combined with the possibility of sustainable usage of smaller volumes of biogenic CO2 will help to achieve net-zero, and with the industrial facilities potentially receiving revenue by selling negative CO2 emissions”.