Twenty new storage sites for carbon could store 10 per cent of total annual UK emissions as the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has announced the results of the UK’s first-ever carbon storage licensing round. The 20 licences in total are create an area of12,000 square kilometres in size, a little bigger than Yorkshire.

Once the new storage sites are in operation – and in some cases first injection could come in as little as six years – they could make a significant contribution to the aim of storing up to 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year by 2030. This first carbon storage licensing round is likely to be the first of many as up to 100 CO2 stores could be needed for the UK to meet the net-zero by 2050 target.

The offers come in the wake of the Chancellor’s Budget announcement that the Government is allocating up to £20bn in support of developing carbon capture, usage and storage, starting with projects in the East Coast, Merseyside and North Wales.

The licences include a range of geological store types and were selected following a process which considered attributes such as the geology, proximity to existing infrastructure and links to industrial clusters which are expecting carbon storage to help meet decarbonisation goals.

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