Norway’s export credit agency Eksfin has joined forces with three Scandinavian banks to provide guarantees for Aker Carbon Capture, a provider of carbon capture, storage and utilisation (CCUS) solutions.

Through the arrangement, the Norwegian energy engineering firm will be able to apply for guarantees to help secure export and domestic contracts. Eksfin takes on 50% of the risk while Norwegian lender DNB and Sweden’s SEB and Swedbank share the remainder equally, an Eksfin spokesperson tells GTR.

The framework has a total value of around NKr650mn (US$61mn) and its first outing is a deal to export CCUS technology for use in two power stations in Denmark, announced on June 15.

The guarantee supports Aker Carbon Capture’s contract to deliver CCUS components such as carbon dioxide storage, liquefaction systems and delivery facilities to Asnæs Power Station, fired by wood chips, and Avedøre Power Station, which uses a straw-fired boiler. Both facilities are owned by Danish renewable energy firm Ørsted.

Eksfin says the CCUS units will have the capacity to capture half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year. The agency declined to disclose the value of the guarantee but says the contracts with Ørsted are worth over €200mn.

The Danish contract marks the first time Eksfin has supported a CCUS project, says chief executive Tone Lunde Bakker. “Going forward, we aim to develop additional financing solutions together with commercial banks that serve our dual national goal of increasing exports and reducing emissions.”

Egil Fagerland, Aker Carbon Capture’s chief financial officer, says: “We are frequently requested to provide guarantees for export contracts. To meet these demands, Eksfin’s additional risk capacity allows Aker Carbon Capture to meet international customers’ expectations at competitive terms in the growing carbon capture industry.”

Eksfin says demand for CCUS will grow as countries race to meet emissions reduction targets and carbon pricing mechanisms “become more prominent”, citing International Energy Agency estimates that carbon capture capacity will need to jump to 1.2 gigatonnes of CO2 per year, compared to current 43 million tonnes annually.