DecarbFaroe

DecarbFaroe is a three-year, EU-funded pilot project demonstrating permanent CO2 storage through in-situ mineralisation in old basalt on the Faroe Islands, the first European application of 44.01's mineralisation technology, previously proven in peridotite in Oman and the UAE. Co-led by 44.01, Equinor, and Jarðfeingi (the Faroese Geological Survey), and bringing together 19 partners across 8 countries, the project advances CO2 mineralization in volcanic formations by moving from academic research to low-cost, commercially viable onshore pilot demonstration, starting with the first kiloton-scale injections on the Faroe Islands. By leveraging the untapped potential of globally abundant mafic rocks for distributed, permanent onshore CO2 storage, it addresses a critical gap in CCS, tackling the high costs and limited adoption of large-scale saline aquifer storage while overcoming the acceptance and scalability challenges of subsurface mineralization. Following extensive site characterization, the project will inject up to 1,000 tons of CO2, dissolved in water and sourced from a local biogas plant, into subsurface basalt, demonstrating carbonate mineralization and permanent storage through geochemical and geophysical monitoring. Beyond the technical work, DecarbFaroe addresses regulatory, social, and commercial feasibility, targeting low costs (under 100 €/ton CO2) and secure onshore operation, with planned dissemination to similar geological settings including immediate scale-up efforts in India and Brazil. Funded under the EU's Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETPartnership), it aims to create a replicable model for basalt mineralisation, using the most widespread rock type on Earth, and to decarbonise local Faroese industry.