Idesa, part of the Daniel Alonso Group, secured a new contract to manufacture nine additional tanks at Avilés. These tanks are primarily intended for the storage of CO2 under the Northern Lights initiative, a project designed to store carbon dioxide captured from European industrial activity. This contract expands a plan already underway with the Norwegian government, in collaboration with a consortium of energy majors Equinor, Shell, and Total. Idesa has already produced the first twelve tanks, and the new units will be exported from the Port of Avilés (Asturias).
The Longship megaproject involves capturing CO2 emissions from industrial facilities and transporting the gas in liquid form by ship to a facility on Norway’s west coast. There, intermediate storage tanks will hold the gas before it is injected into a saline aquifer in the North Sea, roughly 100 kilometers offshore at a depth around 3,000 meters. The storage is intended to be permanent and environmentally safe.
Construction of the Northern Lights CO2 storage facility is nearing completion, and twelve storage tanks by Idesa have already been installed. Víctor Martínez, Idesa’s head of operations and R&D, noted during a recent event at Granda Courses that these colossal tanks measure 6.1 meters in diameter, 33 meters in length, and weigh 248 tons. He described the challenges overcome by the Avilés firm, highlighting how steel selection, size, and mass production required careful coordination of labor, space, and supply chains. The tanks operate at cryogenic temperatures and demand special features such as advanced paints, metal plating, platforms, ladders, and thermal insulation suitable for vertical tank configurations, Martínez explained.
They want the same attention for carbon dioxide as for green hydrogen
Scientists point to a lack of clear legislation and a public-private strategy as sources of uncertainty that hinder investment. Without effective capture, transport, and use of CO2, decarbonization cannot progress in key industries like cement and steel, which generate substantial emissions in their production processes. While green hydrogen attracts significant public administration attention, carbon dioxide does not receive the same level of policy focus, and the absence of a cohesive strategy slows business investment in advanced research and deployment of CO2 technologies.
These findings were presented at the conference titled CO2 capture and storage: a complementary path to decarbonisation, organized and sponsored by the Daniel Alonso Group at Granda Courses. Asturias recognizes the strategic importance of CO2 capture, storage, and subsequent use due to the role of steel and cement in its economy. A broader industrial cluster could help the central government support this path alongside green hydrogen initiatives.
Paula Fernandez-Canteli, a scientist from the Geological Mining Institute of Spain, highlighted a 2024 perspective in which Europe sets storage targets for hydrogen as well as carbon dioxide, backed by European funds. The Basque-Cantabrian basin holds the largest storage capacity in Spain, underscoring the need for a common sector-wide solution, she indicated.
Covadonga Pevida of the Carbon Science and Technology Institute at the CSIC explained how advanced research may enable bioenergy production and called for support of forest biomass from mountain clearings. He stressed the versatility this could offer to the regional industry, though the final application remains to be defined and presents a challenge.
Susana Garcia, a professor of Chemical Engineering and researcher at Heriot-Watt University, cited the United Kingdom’s government goal of leading industrial decarbonisation. She noted that investment in recent years has reached billions of pounds, and that listening to industry clusters on a sectoral basis, negotiating with them, and enabling investment in research and innovation projects has been crucial for progress.
Beatriz Gonzalez Fernandez, who leads environment and water efforts in ArcelorMittal’s Decarbonization and Sustainability division in Spain, commented on ongoing work in the field. Pedro Mora Peris, technical director of the Cement Manufacturers’ Association in Spain and president of the Spanish CO2 Technology Platform, offered a critical view. He pointed to ongoing support from the Ministry of Industry but noted tensions with the Ministry of Transition. He summarized that green hydrogen remains an attractive goal but should complement, not replace, carbon capture and storage as part of a credible industrial decarbonization strategy.