Core Sustainability Capital and Fidelis New Energy announce investment partnership in the Norne Carbon Storage Hub enabling safe, permanent, and economical CO2 storage in Denmark

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Jan. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Core Sustainability Capital ("CS Capital"), backed by the Danish pension fund Velliv, has closed on an investment in the Norne Carbon Storage Hub ("Norne") with its founder Fidelis New Energy ("Fidelis").  Norne will provide environmentally friendly CO2 transportation and permanent storage to help decarbonize Denmark while providing new high-quality jobs, new tax revenue for Denmark, and new private investment directed to fight the causes of climate change.  Norne is a large-scale infrastructure project focused on Carbon Capture and Storage ("CCS") that commenced engineering, investment, and development efforts in mid-2021 to safely store CO2 by mid-2027. These efforts were driven by Norne's storage customers and Danish policy aiming to meet a 2027-2028 operations date.

The Norne project has been designated a Project of Common Interest by the European Union ("EU"), recognizing its role as a priority infrastructure project with significant EU impact.  Norne is aiming to store over 30 million tons per year of CO2 by 2030.  Norne is engaged with several preeminent CO2 customers in Denmark and Europe that plan to start operating their CO2 capture projects by 2028 to meet internal and EU deadlines.    

The investment in Norne is aligned with CS Capital's investment strategy focused on climate impact companies and projects that support the green transition. Furthermore, the investment builds on the objective of supporting the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries such as chemicals, district heating plants, and cement production. This aligns with CS Capital's ambitions and Danish and international strategies to promote and enable the green transition in industries where reducing carbon footprints is the most challenging.

By partnering with Fidelis and investing in and supporting the construction of Norne, CS Capital will address a major climate challenge. The EU estimates that CCS in Europe will grow to 50 million tons of CO2 stored annually in 2030 and 550 million tons of CO2 stored annually in 2050. The EU has concluded that the 2050 CO2 storage target is essential for the EU to reach its net zero target. To support the development of CCS, the EU has implemented an EU-wide legally binding target to capture 50 million tons of CO2 annually in 2030. The legally binding commitment is underpinned by significant subsidies across the EU for CCS.

"We are proud to invest in Norne and to enter into this partnership with Fidelis. Norne plays a vital role for the green transition and is critical for the Danish and European decarbonization goals. Once fully constructed, Norne will be able to capture CO2 amounts corresponding to over half of the yearly total CO2 emissions of Denmark. Through the impact investment in Norne, we look forward to supporting the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries, one of the investment goals of CS Capital," says Per Frederiksen, Managing Partner in CS Capital.

Velliv's CIO, Anders Stensbøl Chistiansen, said, "Velliv has a strategy to invest in companies that, through innovative solutions, contribute to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement while ensuring attractive returns for our customers. The investment in Norne through Core Sustainability Fund I is a testament to this strategy, and we look forward to collaborating with Core Sustainability Capital and Fidelis on this attractive investment."

"We are excited to have Core Sustainability Capital together with Velliv as a key partner in the Norne Carbon Storage Hub. Norne is a strategic Danish project enabling safe and effective carbon reduction of Danish and European economies while maintaining global competitiveness", says Daniel J. Shapiro, Fidelis CEO.  "We look forward to continuing our partnership with Per and Carsten at Core Sustainability Capital as we work to help Denmark become a leader in carbon storage," says Bengt Jarlsjo, Fidelis President and COO. Ulrik Weuder, Managing Director of Fidelis New Energy Europe, added, "Core Sustainability Capital together with Velliv are perfect partners for Norne as they share core values with Fidelis. Norne is supported by strong Danish institutional investors supporting the decarbonization of Denmark at lower costs than what would be possible without the scale and scope of Norne."

Santander Corporate & Investment Bank acted as sole financial advisor to Norne. Kromann Reumert served as the legal counsel for Norne.  Accura acted as advisor to Core Sustainability Capital

About Core Sustainability Capital

Core Sustainability Capital ("CS Capital") is a private capital investment manager, investing in Nordic companies with strong sustainable and impact purposes. CS Capital manages DKK 5 billion in its Core Sustainability Fund I, which is backed by the Danish pension fund Velliv. CS Capital is an active investor with a focus on equity minorities and credit investments to support impact companies and projects with their sustainable growth ambitions towards the green transition.

About Velliv

Velliv is one of Denmark's largest pension companies, with more than 360,000 customers. It has been awarded Best Commercial Pension Fund of the Year in Denmark by FinansWatch and EY in 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. 

About Fidelis New Energy

Fidelis New Energy, LLC is an energy transition company driving decarbonization through investments in renewable fuels, low or negative carbon intensity products, and carbon capture and storage in Europe and the United States of America. Fidelis focuses carbon emission reductions by utilizing proven technologies to provide safe innovative solutions with low costs and environmental impacts.

Fidelis New Energy is headquartered in Houston with a European office in Copenhagen, Denmark. Fidelis has a portfolio of patent pending technologies providing climate benefits through the innovative integration of proven technologies. To learn more about Fidelis and its energy transition technologies, including FidelisH2®, H2PowerCool™, and CO2PowerGrow™ please visit www.fidelisnewenergy.com

About the Norne Carbon Storage Hub

The Norne Carbon Storage Hub consists of CO2 reception facilities, pipelines and storage facilities designed to store CO2 safely and permanently. Norne will receive and store CO2 from Danish and European customers.  For additional information regarding the Norne Carbon Storage Hub, please visit www.norneccs.com