First-ever trade of negative emissions under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

Swiss carbon removal specialist neustark and Norwegian financial services provider SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge launch pilot for world’s first Article 6 agreement for durable CDR

This week, Switzerland and Norway signed a landmark bilateral agreement laying the foundation for long-term cooperation in the fields of CCS (carbon capture and storage) and CDR (carbon dioxide removal). The agreement both enables trading of negative emissions under Article 6.2. of the Paris Agreement – a world-first – as well as CO₂ to be transported from Switzerland to Norway for permanent storage.

First pilot activities under this agreement have already been launched, with neustark, a Switzerland-based, leading carbon removal specialist, and SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge, one of the largest Norwegian financial services providers, leading the way.

SpareBank and neustark have agreed on the transfer of a symbolic amount of carbon removal, a first-ever such activity under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Neustark generates negative emissions at its sites in Switzerland by capturing biogenic CO₂ at point-source and storing it permanently in mineral waste such as demolition concrete, bottom ash and slag. As part of its net zero strategy, SpareBank purchases these carbon credits to counterbalance hard-to-abate operational emissions.

The negative emissions achieved are recognized as so-called ITMOs (Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes) in accordance with the Paris Agreement. The new bilateral agreement between Switzerland and Norway ensures the sole attribution of the negative emissions impact toward SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge’s climate targets (and not any other entity, e.g. Norway, Switzerland or neustark).

Neustark’s founder and co-CEO Valentin Gutknecht says, "As a leading carbon removal developer based in Switzerland and with capture and storage sites throughout Europe, it was clear for neustark to take part in this pioneering Article 6 pilot project. We already work with numerous local and global businesses to provide permanent CDR under the voluntary carbon market. The pilot activities for the first-ever cross-border transfer of carbon removal ITMOs under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement mark a historic milestone for the carbon market."

He adds, "We are proud to partner with SpareBank to bring this first regulated cross-border carbon removal transfer to life – sending a major precedent for the ever-increasing transparency in CCS and CDR."

SpareBanks’s Director of Sustainability, Jørund Buen, states, "Through this agreement, SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge compensate our operations’ 2026 scope 1 emissions and deliver on our promise to be our customers’ ally in the sustainability transition. Our corporate and business banking divisions finance many hard-to-abate industries. For example, cement and steel are key components, and key sources of lifecycle emissions, of most buildings we finance. We aim to help clients in these industries, as well as in shipping, oil & gas, offshore and oil services to reach net zero. Therefore, we now pave the way for private sector use of the Paris Agreement market mechanisms, and for projects that capture, store or remove carbon."

Bilateral agreement for CCS and CDR between Norway and Switzerland

This week, a Swiss and Norwegian business delegation accompanied the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment – led by Federal Councillor Albert Rösti – to Norway to meet with the Norwegian Ministries of Energy and of Climate and Environment – led by Minister of Energy Terje Aasland – to sign the cooperation agreement on CO₂ capture, storage and removal.

Underscoring the significance of this bilateral agreement was the participation of numerous leading Switzerland-based organizations, including UBS, Swiss Re and SWISS.

Next to the transfer of carbon removal generated in Switzerland to Norway – the deal between neustark and SpareBank –, a transfer from Norway to Switzerland was also initiated: a coalition consisting of UBS, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Swiss Re, Post CDR AG, SWISS International Airlines in collaboration with ClimeFi, as well as SIX in collaboration with Carbonfuture, as well as the City of Zurich and Industrielle Werke Basel in collaboration with Climeworks, announced pilot activities. Symbolic amounts of carbon dioxide removals achieved in Norway will be transferred to these voluntary Swiss buyers.

Neustark: permanently capturing and storing CO₂

The Swiss CDR specialist has developed and deployed an IP-protected solution that allows the permanent removal of carbon dioxide: Neustark captures CO₂ at biogas plants produced during the biogas upgrading process. This highly pure biogenic CO₂ - which would have otherwise been emitted into the atmosphere –, is then transported to nearby storage sites located at construction material recyclers. There, the neustark technology injects the CO₂ into the construction demolition waste, triggering an accelerated mineralization process, which permanently binds the CO₂ to the pores and the surface of the granules.

Since the carbon dioxide stored is of biogenic nature, neustark creates negative emissions that are highly durable (>1000 years). The CO₂-enriched recycled aggregate can be further used as recycled building material.

Neustark currently has 36 carbon capture and storage plants in operation in Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Germany, France, Italy and the UK, with a further 30 further currently under construction across Europe. Neustark’s projects are certified under the Gold Standard to ensure credible third-party assessment and transparency related to performance.

About SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge bank

SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge is one of the largest savings banks in Norway. It offers banking services, accounting services, real estate brokerage, insurance, asset management, and financing. The headquarters are located in Stavanger, and it has offices in Vestland, Rogaland, Agder, Telemark, Vestfold, Buskerud, Akershus, as well as in the Oslo area.

About neustark

Limiting global warming to 1.5°C implies reaching net zero CO₂ emissions in 2050, according to the IPCC. Next to substantially reducing emissions, this target will only be possible by globally deploying carbon removal (CDR) solutions at the scale of billions of tonnes of CO₂.

Neustark is a leading provider in this rapidly growing field, having developed a solution to durably and locally remove CO₂ via surface mineralization. We turn the world’s largest waste stream, demolition concrete, and other mineral waste into a carbon sink.

Our first solutions have been deployed in Europe, already capturing and storing thousands of tonnes of CO₂ every year. Now, we are scaling up our operations and carbon removal impact globally.

Founded in 2019, neustark AG is based in Berne, Switzerland, comprising a team of 80 people (as of Q225). Together, we enable permanent CO₂ removal for a bright future of all generations on our planet.