Oilfield services giant Baker Hughes and the Norwegian "carbontech" start-up, Horisont Energi have signed an agreement to jointly explore development and integration of technologies for the Polaris carbon storage project in the Barents Sea, offshore Norway.
Under the agreement, the two companies will explore the development and integration of technologies to minimize the carbon footprint, cost and delivery time of carbon capture, transport and storage (CCTS).
Horisont Energi's Polaris offshore carbon storage facility is part of its “Barents Blue” project, described as the first global and full-scale carbon neutral “blue” ammonia production plant.
The Polaris project is expected to have a total carbon storage capacity in excess of 100 million tons, which is equivalent to twice Norway’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Currently at the concept phase, the facility is expected to enter the construction phase in the second half of 2022.
As part of its overall goals, Polaris aims to have the lowest carbon storage cost globally, paving the way for profitable CCTS facilities that are not reliant on government support schemes.
“The global carbon technology market is emerging for carbon storage and utilization,” said Bjørgulf Haukelidsæter Eidesen, CEO of Horisont Energi. “With Baker Hughes, we will scale solutions across the carbon value chain to accelerate the decarbonization of the energy industry. Our complementary competencies allow for a strategic partnership for scalable, energy-efficient and flexible technology solutions.”
“Baker Hughes has a broad and established portfolio of CCTS technology and proven expertise in executing some of the North Sea’s most complex offshore projects,” said Uwem Ukpong, executive vice president of regions, alliances and enterprise sales at Baker Hughes. “We are proud to be partnering with Horisont Energi for new energy frontiers, taking the Polaris carbon storage project from concept to reality.”
In addition to collaborating for the Polaris offshore carbon storage facility, Baker Hughes and Horisont Energi will also work together to develop processes and technologies across the carbon capture value chain, including: