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NV GL, TCM and SINTEF join forces in major international carbon capture and storage partnership

Three international organizations specializing in technology research, testing, advisory services, and standardization have joined forces to find new ways to accelerate the adoption of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology in emissions-heavy industries. DNV GL, SINTEF and Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) have signed a memorandum of understanding to further develop carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies to make full-scale CCS a reality globally.

CCS is the only currently available technology to deeply decarbonize hydrocarbon use. Scaling the technology will be critical to a range of industry sector’s ability to align with national and international climate targets. DNV GL’s 2020 Energy Transition Outlook forecasts that the technology will help mitigate more than 2 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions by mid-century. However, the forecasts also indicate that CCS will not begin to scale until 2030, and not to a significant level until 2040 without government incentives and with industry focusing on finding ways to reduce the cost of CCS technology. 

On 21 September the Norwegian Government announced its decision to provide 13.8-16.8 billion NOK funding to support the realization of the Norwegian Longship CCS project . All parties have provided consultancy support to enable the realization of this project, which boasts many first-of-a-kind elements, including capture of CO2 emissions from the cement industry, transport of CO2 by ship, and temporary storage of CO2 prior to pipeline transportation and storage.

The aim of the memorandum of understanding is to assist technologies and projects to move more rapidly from demonstration to commercial deployment. TCM’s capability to facilitate large scale testing and verification of CO2 capture technology allows technology developers the lowest possible technological and financial risk. DNV GL and SINTEF can provide confidence to technology developers and stakeholders by guiding and supporting processes to qualify CO2 capture technology, and providing verification of assets, infrastructure and storage sites.  

- TCM’s capability to allow large scale demonstration of CO2 capture technologies is key to lower the cost and risk of deployment of the technologies at scale. Our mandate is to reduce cost and risk for emerging CCS projects through our own and two partners knowledge, said Ernst Petter Axelsen, Managing Director at TCM. 

- There is a significant need to accelerate efforts to scale CCS technology to allow the world to move toward its net-zero targets with greater confidence. Our partnership with TCM and SINTEF will allow us to work closely together to accelerate the deployment of CCS as a critical technology to deliver on nationally and internationally agreed climate targets,  said Liv A. Hovem, CEO, DNV GL – Oil & Gas.

- We are finally at a moment in time where CCS is being recognised as a key driver for sustainable growth, and we must succeed on the global scale quickly, according to both the IPCC, the European Commission among many others. This partnership will build on a deep knowledge-base, which SINTEF has actively contributed to for more than three decades, enabling a fast track to full scale and global use of CCS,  said Alexandra Bech Gjørv, President and CEO SINTEF.

For media enquiries, please contact: 

Neil Slater 
Head of External Relations, DNV GL - Oil & Gas 
Tel: +44 (0) 7876 578 353 
E-mail:  

Ernst Petter Axelsen
Managing Director, Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM)
Tel: + 47 982 08 618
E-mail:

Alan Gorham 
Account Director, BIG Partnership 
Tel: +44 (0) 1 224253810 
E-mail:  

Additional Media contacts if needed.
Dr. Karl Anders Hoff
Senior Scientist, SINTEF
Tel: +47 982 43 482
E-mail:

About TCM
Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) is the world’s largest and most flexible test centre for developing CO2 capture technologies and a leading competence centre for carbon capture. The company is located at one of Norway’s most complex industrial facilities, Mongstad in Hordaland county.

TCM is a joint venture between Gassnova on behalf of the Norwegian state, Equinor, Shell and Total. Approximately NOK 6 billion has been invested in developing and constructing the facility. TCM is used both by large and small technology vendors and by TCM’s owners. For instance, the US Energy Department (DoE) has funded six American companies aiming to test their emerging CO2 capture technologies at TCM. Both ION Clean Energy and Fluor Corporation, a global engineering and construction company, have conducted testing at the facility. Read more about TCM at https://tcmda.com/

About SINTEF
The SINTEF Group, with its two leading institutes SINTEF Industry and SINTEF Energy, both represented herein as parties to this Agreement, represents one of Europe's largest independent research institutes, with approximately 2000 employees, conducting contract research for the private and public sectors. With world leading research competence and infrastructure applied along the whole CO2 related value chain, SINTEF has more than 150 researchers active in CCUS-related technology development and validation. These activities are supported by five large scale test facilities for CO2 capture: three absorption plants and one membrane unit (two facilities co-owned with NTNU), and one CO2 liquefaction test facility; as well as extensive lab scale test-equipment for solvent characterization, gas/liquid sample analyses and for determining thermodynamic and transport properties of CO2 and CO2 mixtures. 

About DNV GL 
DNV GL is the independent expert in risk management and quality assurance, operating in more than 100 countries. Through its broad experience and deep expertise DNV GL advances safety and sustainable performance, sets industry benchmarks, and inspires and invents solutions. 

Whether assessing a new ship design, optimizing the performance of a wind farm, analyzing sensor data from a gas pipeline or certifying a food company’s supply chain, DNV GL enables its customers and their stakeholders to make critical decisions with confidence. 

Driven by its purpose, to safeguard life, property, and the environment, DNV GL helps tackle the challenges and global transformations facing its customers and the world today and is a trusted voice for many of the world’s most successful and forward-thinking companies.

DNV GL is the technical advisor to the oil and gas industry. We bring a broader view to complex business and technology risks in global and local markets. Providing a neutral ground for industry cooperation, we create and share knowledge with our customers, setting standards for technology development and implementation. From project initiation to decommissioning, our independent experts enable companies to make the right choices for a safer, smarter and greener future. DNV GL services span the entire value chain of CCS: capture, transport (both ships and pipeline), utilization and storage. We build trust for industries, investors and governing bodies globally from strategic planning through technology demonstration to operational excellence.

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