The country has set a target of reaching net zero carbon emissions in 2045 and sees carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology as key to reaching that target. By 2030, CCS should help to reduce at least 3.2 million tons of Denmark's CO2 emissions.
"We need to reduce the risk of not achieving our ambitions. This is the government's response," Climate, Energy and Utilities Minister Lars Aagaard said at a press conference.
"This will mean that more actors can bid and thus create greater certainty that CO2 capture and storage can deliver its share to meet the CO2 reduction targets," the ministry said in a statement.
The new projects have to become operational in 2029, it added.
Efforts to promote the technology have gained steam across Europe over the past few years as industries and governments seek to reduce emissions to meet their climate goals.
In May, Denmark awarded 8 billion crowns to energy group Orsted (ORSTED.CO) to capture and store 0.4 million tons of CO2 per year from two heat and power plants over a 20-year period.
It now plans to allocate 10.5 billion crowns for a tender next June, and 16.3 billion crowns for a tender in 2025 to capture and store 0.9 million and 1.4 million tons of CO2 respectively.
In February, Denmark awarded its first licences for exploration of full-scale CO2 storage in the Danish North Sea to TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) and a consortium consisting of INEOS Energy and Wintershall Dea (WING.UL).
The Greensand project led by INEOS and Wintershall aims to start injecting 1.5 million tons per year (mtpa) of CO2 under the seabed in 2025-2026, increasing capacity to 8 mtpa by 2030.
TotalEnergies' Bifrost project aims to inject up to 3 mtpa of CO2 into a depleted oil and gas field from 2027, and reaching 5 million mtpa by 2030.
Denmark postponed the second tender for offshore CO2 storage previously planned for Aug. 15 to give more time to consider whether the state should take a bigger role in future licences.
The government holds stakes in previously-issued licences.
