ARENDAL – August 16, 2021 – The North Sea should play a central role in the green transition, according to a new report to which LowEmission contributed. The document will be presented today at Arendalsuka, an important stage for societal debate in Norway.

The report was prepared by SINTEF and NTNU and highlights the potential of the North Sea for the decarbonisation of the economy. It underlines the importance of large-scale carbon capture and storage to reach emission reduction targets, and advocates a stronger focus on these technologies. The report also outlines how the North Sea can be home to offshore wind, zero-carbon fuels production and distribution and an international network of subsea cables – which can together pave the way for a zero-carbon economy in Norway and Europe.

– Norwegian industry has an edge because of its extensive knowledge about the North Sea and its experience carrying out projects in challenging offshore conditions. On top of that, a lot of the existing oil and gas infrastructure can be repurposed to play a role in the decarbonisation transition, says the acting leader of the LowEmission research centre, Stefania Gardarsdottir.

Report authors explain that Norway's knowledge lead can be preserved through additional research and development. They also point out that any project in the North Sea should be carried out in an environmentally sustainable way.

Immediately following the presentation at Arendalsuka, a debate will focus on three points:

• Ensuring sustainable development of the North Sea area
• Facilitating CO₂ storage equivalent to hundreds of Longship projects by 2050
• Maintaining the knowledge lead

The report was made by four research centres led by SINTEF and NTNU: NorthWind (SINTEF – wind energy technology), NCCS (SINTEF – carbon capture and storage), LowEmission (SINTEF – emissions reduction in the oil and gas industry) and NTRANS (NTNU – energy transition strategies).

The report can be downloaded here (report in Norwegian): https://www.sintef.no/globalassets/sintef-energi/arendalsuka/arendal_2021_sintef_lr.pdf