Decarbonization European Union’s First Full-Scale CO2 Storage Site Launched

The European Union’s first full-scale CO2 storage site was recently launched on September 18, 2026. The Greensand CO₂ storage facility is spearheaded by Ineos Energy, with partners Harbour Energy and the Danish North Sea Fund.

London/UK – Recently, His Majesty King Frederik X of Denmark officially opened the first full-scale facility for the permanent storage of CO₂ in the European Union. The opening took place at a ceremony at the Port of Esbjerg marking Greensand’s move into commercial operation.

For the first time, Greensand provides industry across the EU with the infrastructure it needs to transport and permanently store CO₂ and offers a practical route to reducing emissions without shutting down the industries that Europe depends upon.

The project, which is led by Ineos Energy alongside Harbour Energy and Nordsøfonden, demonstrates that carbon capture and storage is no longer a future ambition. It is now a reality.

Ineos will source CO₂ primarily from Danish biomethane plants. This enables the full CCS value chain to be established and operated using CO₂ volumes that are readily available, while capture projects across industry continue to develop and scale. Once captured, CO₂ is liquefied, delivered by truck to a dedicated CO₂ terminal at Port Esbjerg, shipped aboard Carbon Destroyer 1 - the EU's first purpose-built CO₂ carrier - and injected into the Nini West reservoir, a depleted oil field some 250 kilometres offshore, approximately 1,800 metres beneath the seabed.

In this first commercial phase, Greensand can store up to 400,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually. The site has been designed to expand significantly, with the potential to store up to 4-8 million tonnes each year as demand grows.

David Bucknall, CEO of Ineos Energy, says: "For years, CCS in Europe has been defined by plans, targets and ambitions. Today, Greensand brings the EU’s first full-scale CO₂ storage site and value chain into operation. It provides a foundation on which future Carbon Capture projects across Europe can now build."

Europe needs industry, not deindustrialization

The opening comes at a critical moment for European industry. Europe's energy-intensive industries directly employ almost eight million people and generate roughly 550 billion euros in value added every year. They are critical to Europe’s security of supply, providing the materials that society and depends on: cement for housing, roads and energy infrastructure; steel for power grids, wind turbines and defence; and chemicals used in everything from water treatment and medicines to cable insulation and electronics. These industries face growing pressure from rising costs and international competition.

At the same time, the EU is working to meet its own CO₂ capture and storage targets: 50 million tonnes annually by 2030, rising to 250–280 million tonnes by 2040. Europe remains far from that scale.

Too often, the debate has been presented as a choice between industrial competitiveness and climate progress. Greensand shows that is a false choice.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of Ineos, said: "Europe will not achieve net zero by closing factories and exporting its jobs. We need solutions that allow industry to remain competitive while reducing emissions. Greensand proves it can be done. This is not a pilot project, a concept or a political ambition. It is a fully operational carbon transport and storage business. The technology works. The storage is ready. The challenge now is creating the right conditions for carbon capture to scale across Europe."

Storage and transport is ready - capture can now follow

With the opening on 18 September, permanent full-scale CO₂ storage enters operation in the EU. The question that follows is how quickly the EU establishes the regulatory, infrastructure and investment conditions that allow industrial emitters to capture CO₂ at scale.

European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen said, “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.”

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."

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