TCM’s CEO to mayors in Nordhordland: “Yes, we can!”

TCM’s managing director, Muhammad Ismail Shah, used Barack Obama’s campaign slogan “Yes, we can”. When he presented TCM’s activities at a meeting with the mayors of Alver, Austrheim, Gulen, Masfjorden and Modalen on Wednesday 21 February. Shah pointed out that the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that by 2050. 1.7 billion tonnes of CO₂ will need to be removed directly from the air and water. And 6 billion tonnes through conventional carbon capture and storage to avoid global warming. The capture facilities that have come online to date will capture around 50 million tonnes.

The way forward

– In other words, we have a long way to go. But Norway is leading the way with the Longship project,” says Shah, “We look forward to Heidelberg Materials’s capture facility at Brevik becoming operational with a target of 400,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. In addition Aker Carbon Capture’s capture technology has been tested here at TCM. With the transport to the receiving facility in Øygarden. After that the storage under the seabed in the North Sea, we are up and running. Longship and Northern Lights are just the beginning of a new and important industrial chapter in Norway. Internationally, a number of promising CCS initiatives are in the pipeline, not least in the US – stimulated by President Biden’s mammoth green transition programme, the Inflation Reduction Act.

More than 20 test campaigns

Since its establishment in 2012, TCM has carried out more than 20 test campaigns on various carbon capture technologies. In December last year, an agreement was signed under which the Norwegian state reduced its stake in the company to 34 per cent, while Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies increased their stakes to 22 per cent each. “The owners have collectively challenged me and all of my employees to ensure that in 2024 and 2025, we position the company for a future where operations will be self-sustaining,” said Muhammad Ismail Shah. “The programme we are implementing to achieve this goal is called TCM 2.0. Can we succeed? “Yes, we can!”

The TCM CEO thanked the mayors present for the support and interest the company has received in the region over the years. They reciprocated by congratulating Shah and his staff on the new operating agreement and wishing them well for the future. They also heard interesting presentations from the new director of Equinor Mongstad, Bernt E. Tysseland, and the project manager for Greenspot Mongstad, Einar Våge, who outlined the plans for the greening of Mongstad.