Editing Brevik CCS

[[Category:CCS Projects]][[Category:Cement Production]][[Category: SLB Capturi]]
'''Brevik CCS''' refers to the CCS project located at the Brevik Cement Plant in Brevik, Norway. The CCS project is a part of the wider Longship programme, and supplies CO<sub>2</sub> to the [[Northern Lights]] transport and storage project. Brevik Cement Plant is a [[Cement Production|cement production facility]], creating cement from limestone. The facility is owned by [[Heidelberg Materials]].

==History==


==CCS Project==
===Capture===
Heidelberg Materials (then HeidelbergCement / Norcem) reports that early work on full-scale capture concepts at Brevik dates back to the mid-2000s.<ref name="HM_Brevik_Journey_2024">Cite web url=https://www.heidelbergmaterials.com/sites/default/files/2024-07/Vetle%20Houg_Pioneering%20carbon%20capture%20in%20the%20cement%20industry.pdf</ref> The Brevik site was subsequently included among candidate industrial facilities evaluated under Norway’s broader CCS maturation efforts, which progressed through feasibility and engineering phases during the 2010s.<ref name="Regj_2016_Feasibility">|url=https://www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/departementene/ed/pdf/summary.pdf </ref>

Key milestones include:
* '''May 2013–2017:''' Norcem ran a CO<sub>2</sub> capture project programme at Brevik (reported in technical presentations as launched in 2013).<ref name="Norcem_PIRT_2014">|url=https://fossil.energy.gov/archives/cslf/sites/default/files/documents/warsaw2014/Bjerge-NorcemCO2CaptureProject-PIRT-Warsaw1014.pdf</ref>
* '''December 2020:''' Norway’s Parliament approved investment in Longship, including a full-scale capture facility at Brevik.<ref>="HM_2020_Parliament" </ref><ref>name="BrevikCCS_Main"</ref>
* '''January 2021:''' Initial project implementation work began at Brevik following the parliamentary decision.<ref>name="BrevikCCS_Main"</ref>
* '''December 2024:''' The capture facility reached mechanical completion (as reported by SLB Capturi).<ref>name="SLB_Capturi_Project"</ref>
* '''May 2025:''' The project recorded early ramp-up capture of the first 1,000 tonnes of CO<sub>2</sub>, including liquefaction and temporary storage on-site.<ref name="SLB_Capturi_1000">https://capturi.slb.com/resources/news/2025/slb-capturi-achieves-first-1000-metric-tons-co2-captured-at-brevik-carbon-capture-plant</ref>
* '''June 2025:''' The facility was officially opened; Heidelberg Materials reported first volumes of CO<sub>2</sub> captured, liquefied and stored, with initial Northern Lights shipments beginning during ramp-up.<ref>="HM_2020_Parliament" </ref>
* '''Summer 2025:''' The project stated it entered operation during summer 2025.<ref>name="BrevikCCS_Main"</ref>
* '''August 2025:''' Reuters reported first CO<sub>2</sub> injection and storage for Northern Lights using CO<sub>2</sub> shipped from Brevik.<ref>name="Reuters_2025_Injection"</ref>

Brevik CCS captures CO<sub>2</sub> from the cement kiln flue gas using a post-combustion [[Chemical Solvent|chemical solvent]] solvent process.<ref>name="BrevikCCS_FAQ" </ref> The capture plant is supplied by [[SLB Capturi]] and described as based on its Big Catch™ concept, including CO<sub>2</sub> capture, conditioning, compression, intermediate storage, and ship loading facilities integrated with the operating cement plant.<ref> name="SLB_Capturi_Project" </ref><ref name="BrevikCCS_Partners">|url=https://www.brevikccs.com/en/partners-and-collaboration</ref>

SLB Capturi reports the design includes heat integration and use of recovered (waste) heat from the cement plant and compression system to support capture operations.<ref name="SLB_Capturi_Project" />


===Transport===
''Main Article: [[Northern Lights]]''

The Brevik CCS project supplies CO<sub>2</sub> to the Northern Lights joint venture for transport and storage. CO<sub>2</sub> is transported to the receiving terminal by [[CO2 Shipping|liquid CO<sub>2</sub> ships]]

===Storage===
''Main Article: [[Northern Lights]]''

The Brevik CCS project transfers CO<sub>2</sub> to the Northern Lights joint venture for transport and storage. CO<sub>2</sub> is injected via subsea pipeline to an offshore reservoir.

==Technology==
The plant uses the SLB Capturi absorption technology to extract CO<sub>2</sub> from the flue gas of the cement kiln. The capture system treats approximately half of the flue gas stream.

Brevik CCS applies a solvent-based post-combustion capture liquid amine chemical solvent, a technology family that has been demonstrated in other industrial and power applications and adapted here to cement kiln flue gas conditions.<ref name="BrevikCCS_FAQ" /> 

=== Waste Heat Integration ===
The capture facility at Brevik is limited by the available thermal energy to regenerate the new capture plant. During design, it was identified that no significant new steam facilities were to be constructed, hampering the regeneration of the amine solvent. 

The decision was then made to make use of three primary heat energy sources
# '''Flue Gas Waste Heat''': Approximately '''XXX''' MW
# '''New CO<sub>2</sub> Compressor Waste Heat''': Approximately '''XXX''' MW
# '''Small Electric Boiler''': Approximately '''XXX''' MW

'''INSERT FURTHER DETAILS'''

==Costs==
Public cost reporting for Brevik CCS is commonly presented within the wider Longship full-chain context (capture + transport + storage), with values varying by reporting boundary (e.g., inclusion of multi-year operating support) and by update year.

* '''Longship (programme-level):''' Norway’s government stated in June 2025 that it supports Longship with approximately '''NOK 22 billion'''('''XXX''' million USD) in grants for construction and operation, with total estimated cost (including ten years of operation) around '''NOK 34 billion'''('''XXX''' million USD).<ref name="Regjeringen_2025_Longship" />
* '''Capture facility (Brevik-specific, media reporting):''' Reuters reported in January 2023 that the Brevik capture facility cost was about '''€400 million'''('''XXX''' million USD), with Norway providing '''85%''' of that cost (as reported in that article).<ref name="Reuters_2023_Cost">https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/germany-backs-norwegian-plan-capture-carbon-cement-2023-01-06/ </ref>
* '''Abatement cost (Brevik CCS):''' CCS Norway reports an abatement cost at KS-2 of '''NOK 842 per tonne CO<sub>2</sub>'''('''XXX''' USD per tonne CO<sub>2</sub>) (2020 currency) for Brevik CCS, later updated to '''NOK 965 per tonne CO<sub>2</sub>'''('''XXX''' USD per tonne CO<sub>2</sub>) (2020 currency), and expressed as approximately '''NOK 1,150 per tonne CO<sub>2</sub>'''('''XXX''' USD per tonne CO<sub>2</sub>) in 2024 currency value terms.<ref name="CCSNorway_Abatement">https://ccsnorway.com/longship-potential-for-cost-reductions-in-the-ccs-chain/</ref>

==Performance==
Heidelberg Materials reports Brevik CCS is designed to capture around 400,000 tonnes of CO<sub>2</sub> per year, corresponding to roughly 50% of the Brevik plant’s emissions.<ref name="HM_2025_Opening" /><ref name="SLB_Capturi_Project" />

During commissioning and ramp-up:
* SLB Capturi reported capture, liquefaction and temporary on-site storage of the first '''1,000 tonnes''' of CO<sub>2</sub> in May 2025.<ref name="SLB_Capturi_1000" />
* Heidelberg Materials reported that first volumes had been successfully captured, liquefied and temporarily stored, and that Northern Lights began initial shipments to Øygarden during June 2025 as ramp-up progressed.<ref name="HM_2025_Opening" />
* Reuters reported that the first CO<sub>2</sub> injected in Northern Lights operations was shipped from the Brevik cement factory and transported onward via pipeline from the Øygarden terminal.<ref name="Reuters_2025_Injection" />

Performance continues to be monitored in the initial years of deployment at the Brevik site.

==Future Plans==
Heidelberg Materials has described Brevik CCS as a blueprint for industrial decarbonisation in hard-to-abate sectors and indicated that ramp-up would enable customer supply of its carbon-captured cement product (marketed as "evoZero").<ref name="HM_2025_Opening" /><ref name="Reuters_2025_evoZero">https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/heidelberg-sells-out-net-zero-cement-norway-plant-ceo-says-2025-06-18/</ref>

On the transport-and-storage side, Equinor states that Northern Lights Phase 1 includes capacity to inject and store up to 1.5 million tonnes CO<sub>2</sub>/year, while Phase 2 (announced March 2025) targets an increase to a minimum of 5 million tonnes CO<sub>2</sub>/year.<ref name="Equinor_NL" /> Reuters also reported that Northern Lights partners committed additional investment toward a second phase expansion following the start of operations in 2025.<ref name="Reuters_2025_Injection" />

==Reception==
Brevik CCS has been highlighted by industry, government, and parts of the environmental NGO community as a major milestone for decarbonising cement and demonstrating an integrated CCS value chain:
* Heidelberg Materials framed the project as the world’s first industrial-scale CCS facility in the cement industry and a template for other industrial decarbonisation efforts.<ref name="HM_2025_Opening" />
* Norwegian authorities characterised Longship as a flagship climate and industrial initiative supported through substantial public grants for construction and operation.<ref name="Regjeringen_2025_Longship" />
* Norwegian environmental NGO Bellona described the start of full-scale CCS at Brevik as a major climate success and emphasised CCS as necessary for cutting emissions in hard-to-abate sectors.<ref name="Bellona_2025">https://bellona.org/news/ccs-campaign/2025-06-a-major-norwegian-climate-success</ref>

At the same time, commentary on Brevik CCS and Longship has noted ongoing debates and concerns, including the cost of first-of-a-kind deployments, reliance on subsidies, and the importance of pursuing other decarbonisation levers alongside CCS:
* Reuters reported that Longship is heavily subsidised and quoted stakeholders indicating that wider rollout will require stronger commercial drivers and business cases over time.<ref name="Reuters_2025_evoZero" />
* Analysts have discussed CCS as expensive and energy-intensive, and included perspectives warning against “all eggs in the CCS basket” in cement, pointing to complementary measures such as clinker substitution and demand reduction, though without addressing the inherent process emissions of cement production that would still remain.<ref name="Guardian_2024">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/12/were-still-in-the-1970s-with-cement-norway-plant-to-blaze-carbon-free-concrete-trail </ref>



==References==
<references/>