Aker Solutions has signed a strategic agreement with Microsoft in Norway to mature, derisk, and deliver global carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects. Signed at the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) conference in Stavanger, the collaboration aligns engineering capabilities with digital technology infrastructure. The agreement targets developers, emitters, transport operators, and governments to support early-stage development, strengthen investment readiness, and accelerate project pipelines toward final investment decisions (FIDs).

Many industrial-scale carbon capture and removal initiatives face systemic execution hurdles, high capital investment risks, and complex pathways to achieving financial close. Developers often experience difficulties navigating commercial uncertainties, proving investment readiness, and demonstrating the bankability of potential CDR credits. Additionally, bridging physical infrastructure execution with digital oversight presents operational challenges that stall project maturation.

To overcome these barriers, the partnership merges Aker Solutions’ techno-economic advisory services and end-to-end engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) capabilities with Microsoft’s digital architecture. Microsoft will contribute digital tools, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems. This combined strategy provides project developers with a single integrated pipeline from initial feasibility studies through to long-term operations.

The primary outcome of this partnership is an integrated execution model designed to reduce project risk, enhance business cases, and increase the bankability of global CCS and CDR developments. By pairing physical carbon-management infrastructure with AI-driven digital MRV systems, the initiative improves credit transparency and market confidence. Furthermore, the framework supports corporate decarbonization commitments by streamlining pathways toward FIDs for next-generation carbon removal assets.