Norway has created a new national carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) innovation cluster, CCUS Innovation, which unites two of the country’s leading initiatives: CCUS Norway, managed by consultancy Carbon Limits, and CCS Innovation, driven by SINTEF Energy.
The initiative forms part of the Norwegian Innovation Clusters (NIC) programme, a government-backed partnership between Innovation Norway, SIVA, and the Research Council of Norway, aimed at improving competitiveness and sustainability through innovation.
The cluster connects 69 members across the carbon value chain, including Aker BP, Hydro, SLB, and Hafslund Celsio. The latter, Norway’s largest supplier of district heating, is among the first emitters to capture and deliver carbon dioxide to Northern Lights, the world’s first commercial CO2 transport and storage project, which began its inaugural injection in August 2025.
‘This recognition strengthens our goal of building a dynamic, innovation-driven carbon capture and storage ecosystem in Norway,’ said Francesco Finotti, senior business developer at SINTEF Energy and head of CCUS Innovation. ‘CCUS Innovation unites two of Norway’s strongest CCUS communities into one powerful alliance, making it easier for international collaborators to access Norway’s CCUS expertise and form strategic partnerships.’
The cluster has been awarded NOK 9 million (around $900,000) in funding over three years, from 2026 to 2028, to support project financing, technology development, and commercialisation. Jannicke Gerner Bjerkås, chair of CCUS Norway and director of CCS and carbon markets at Hafslund Celsio, said: ‘Industrial clusters like CCUS Innovation are crucial to building an efficient and competitive Norwegian CCUS market.’
Norway has long been a pioneer in carbon capture technologies, with research institutions such as SINTEF developing CCS applications since the 1980s. The launch of Northern Lights marks a new commercial phase for the sector, and CCUS Innovation aims to consolidate this momentum by providing a single contact point for stakeholders seeking to engage with Norway’s CCUS ecosystem.
DNV, meanwhile, has emphasised the need for standardised verification processes to support regulatory compliance and investor confidence in CCS and related technologies. The classification society recently introduced a new service specification covering capture, compression, and injection systems to de-risk projects and build trust in the sector. Its June 2025 report forecast that global CCS capacity could grow fourfold by 2030, with cumulative investments reaching $80 billion.
