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Rumor has it that all technologies needed to build energy islands are ready. Wind turbines are spinning in many large offshore parks, while combinations of sand and concrete have given birth to several entirely new islands. However, not all rumors are true. Not only has the Danish parliament mandated the largest ever infrastructure project in the history of our country. The first Danish artificial island built for energy production will also become the world’s largest renewable energy project. On top of the technical and logistical challenges associated with building something of an unprecedented scale and nature come new concerns. The energy islands are an extreme version of the power system we know today, and therefore represent a Mars mission for the energy system. More than once have large infrastructure projects been plagued by delays and significant additional costs. Often such problems have been rooted in overly optimistic planning, limited knowledge regarding the complexity and interdependencies involved, and not giving enough attention to the development phase relative to the construction phase. For many reasons, it is highly desirable for the energy island projects to perform well. Therefore, we have teamed up to map the key challenges and suggest R&D initiatives to address them. Importantly, these initiatives are not intended as an inserted step before construction. Given the urgency in green transition and ending the reliance on fossil fuels, research and construction must be conducted in parallel. A solid foundation for energy islands On the following pages we invite you to delve into the complexity of constructing and operating offshore hubs for renewable energy. As you will hopefully agree, we are by no means saying that it cannot be done. It can. But only if decisions are based on a solid foundation of knowledge.

Denmark is committed to a 70% reduction of CO2 emissions in 2030, compared to the 1990 level, and to be net-zero by 2050. A strategy for carbon capture, utilization and storage has been put forward as key enabler to meet these climate targets. Denmark has the potential to become a major provider of CO2 transportation and permanent geological storage services in Europe benefiting from underground storage potential from future depleted oil and gas fields and saline aquifer structures. Besides, the country has existing onshore and offshore facilities (wells, offshore facilities, pipelines) that could be converted for this purpose, a central location for national and European emitters, and a highly skilled workforce with vast experience in offshore operations. The Bifrost project aims at providing CO2 transportation and permanent geological storage capitalizing on existing facilities in the Danish North Sea. The Bifrost concept leverages the assets owned by the Danish Underground Consortium (‘DUC’, consisting of TotalEnergies, Noreco, and Nordsøfonden) and plans to progressively convert depleted gas fields starting with the Harald West field with a first phase targeting circa 3 million tons per annum over a 15-year period. The “all-offshore” development concept for this first phase entails the technical qualification of an innovative floating storage and injection unit for CO2 injection in depleted gas reservoir and associated offshore offloading system for ship-to-ship CO2 transfer. Bifrost project aims at de-risking CO2 injection in Harald East chalk reservoir, a potential play opener for storing CO2 in chalk that is the main reservoir type of the oil and gas fields in the Danish North Sea. Bifrost project will also assess the potential conversion of existing gas pipelines owned and operated by Ørsted for CO2 transportation to co