Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, visited the world’s first commercial blue hydrogen production facility at the CCB Energy Park in Øygarden, Norway. The visit marks a significant step in India’s strategic outreach to adopt and scale advanced energy technologies as part of its broader clean energy transition.
The facility, developed by CCB Energy in partnership with ZEG Power, produces blue hydrogen using the proprietary “ZEG-H₂” reforming technology, which integrates carbon capture directly into the production process. The captured CO₂ is subsequently transported to the adjacent Northern Lights facility for permanent storage beneath the seabed.
“The blue hydrogen pilot plant currently produces around one tonne of hydrogen per day while capturing nearly all associated carbon dioxide emissions,” the minister noted. The strategically positioned plant is a part of the larger CCB Energy Holding’s initiative and leverages Norway’s advanced infrastructure for clean energy solutions.
Taking to social media platform X, Minister Puri wrote – “In our continued quest to provide momentum to India’s efforts to achieve energy security under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, I visited the Northern Lights CO₂ Terminal in Bergen, Norway.”
The Northern Lights project — a collaboration between the Norwegian government and energy majors Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies — is the world’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiative. Designed to store up to 100 million tonnes of CO₂, it uses a flexible maritime transport network to carry captured carbon from industrial sites to a receiving terminal on Norway’s west coast. The CO₂ is then piped 110 km offshore and injected into geological reservoirs 2,600 metres under the seabed.
Minister Puri emphasized that such projects could provide critical learnings for India’s own carbon management and hydrogen production plans.
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“We are reviewing this, and similar projects, to upgrade and expand India’s energy capabilities,” he said. “Norway’s expertise in deepwater exploration, seismic oil surveys, offshore wind, and CCS aligns well with India’s ambitious energy transition agenda.”
The visit underscores India’s commitment to leveraging international collaborations in pursuit of a sustainable and secure energy future.
