This week, the Danish Energy Agency opened for companies to apply for a licence to explore the subsurface for CO2 storage in certain coastal areas in Denmark. At the same time, the Danish Energy Agency invites potential applicants to an information meeting on 15th of January 2025.

The Danish Energy Agency today opened the fourth licencing round for exploration and use of the subsurface for geological storage of CO2. The tender covers three areas near the Danish coast; Jammerbugt, Lisa and Inez.

Applications can be uploaded to the public service Filkassen. A private link for upload will be given by request to ccs-lagring@ens.dk. The application deadline is the 6th of March 2025.

Information meeting about the application process the 15th of January

The Danish Energy Agency invites potential applicants to an information meeting regarding the application process on Wednesday the 15th of January from 10:30 am to 11:15 am. The information meeting will be held virtually and in English.

At the meeting, the Danish Energy Agency will inform about the conditions and process for applying for a licence to explore and use of the subsurface for geological storage of CO2.

See the material on the licensed areas for exploration and CO2 storage

Facts about CO2 storage

• A licence to explore and use the subsurface for geological storage of CO2 has two main phases; an exploration phase and a storage phase. The exploration phase can last up to 6 years, the purpose of which is to determine through exploration whether the subsurface conditions are suitable for the safe storage of CO2 and how large the storage capacity is. If a storage site is deemed suitable, the licence holder has a priority to apply to store CO2. Any storage licence can last up to 30 years with the possibility of extension. Around 20 years after closing the storage site, the area is returned to the state.
• The current tender covers three coastal areas in Denmark - Jammerbugt, Lisa, and Inez. The areas are among several designated by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) because the geological conditions in these areas are particularly suitable for underground storage of CO2.
• A strategic environmental assessment of the areas has already been carried out to ensure that any storage can take place in an environmentally sound manner. Projects and activities related to exploration and storage, including drilling, etc., must also undergo a specific environmental assessment.
• The tender is part of a number of previous tenders held in Denmark. According to the Agreement on strengthened framework conditions for CCS in Denmark of 20 September 2023, 8 areas were to be published for tender before the end of 2023. The same agreement states that the Danish state, through Nordsøfonden, participates with a 20 percent ownership in all exploration and storage licences.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Danish Energy Agency   l   KeyFacts Energy news: Carbon Capture and Storage