Ineos has launched its Greensand carbon dioxide storage site roughly 250 km off the Danish coast and nearly 2 km beneath the seabed, marking the EU’s first full‑scale operational CCS facility. The site can store up to 400,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually in its initial phase, with potential to scale to 8 million tonnes per year. King Frederik X of Denmark inaugurated the project on Friday, joined by Ineos chair Jim Ratcliffe and European energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen.

Ratcliffe emphasized that Greensand is “a fully operational carbon storage business,” not a pilot. Early customers are mainly Danish biomethane plants, though commercial terms remain undisclosed. The opening follows a similar Norwegian project and comes as EU carbon permit prices hover around €87 per tonne, making storage financially attractive.

Industry experts such as Eadbhard Pernot of Carbon Management Europe call it a landmark, but warn that reaching the EU’s 2030 target of 50 million tonnes of capture capacity remains a stretch. Other CCS projects are underway in the Netherlands, Greece, and the UK, where Eni is building a Liverpool Bay hub. Ratcliffe argues such infrastructure lets European industry stay competitive while cutting emissions, urging the EU to create the regulatory and investment conditions needed for scale.