Licences Offered for Undersea Storage of CO2 off the Yorkshire Coast

30m tonnes of CO2 could be stored under the North Sea.

The North Sea Transition Authority says that the new carbon storage areas, alongside the six licences which have been issued previously, could have the ability to make a significant contribution towards the aim of storing 20-30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2030.

The idea is to use carbon capture and storage techniques to capture CO2 emissions from industrial processes, such as steel and cement production. This carbon dioxide is then transported from where it was produced, via ship or in a pipeline, and stored deep underground in geological formations.

The areas being offered for licensing are off the coast of Aberdeen, Teesside, Liverpool and Lincolnshire in the Southern North Sea, Central North Sea, Northern North Sea, and East Irish Sea and are made up of a mixture of saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas field storage opportunities.

This round is envisaged to be the first of many as it is estimated that as many as 100 CO2 stores could be required in order to meet the net zero by 2050 target.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report published in April 2022 emphasised the need for carbon capture and storage technologies to be deployed to reach net zero emissions from power and industry sectors.

The NSTA says the capture of CO2 emissions from industrial processes and will play a crucial role in decarbonising the UK’s major industrial hubs such as Teesside and Humberside. It says it has launched this carbon storage licensing round in response to unprecedented levels of interest from companies eager to enter the market.

The NSTA adds:

"The areas on offer have a combination of attributes such as the right geological conditions, proximity to existing infrastructure which may be able to be re-purposed, and links to industrial clusters which are looking to carbon storage to help meet their decarbonisation goals.

The level of interest already expressed suggests there will be strong competition meaning that prospective licensees will need to produce high-quality bids to win licences.

In choosing suitable areas to make available for licensing, the NSTA fully considered issues including co-location with offshore wind – whether there are any known challenges and mitigations around existing or future offshore wind developments – environmental issues, potential overlaps with existing or future petroleum licences, and other activities to ensure key technologies can all be taken forward."

There are currently six carbon storage licences on the UK Continental Shelf which could meet up to one-fifth of storage needs, if they reach their maximum potential of up to 40 million tonnes per annum injection rates by the mid-2030s.

It is expected that any new licences will be awarded in early 2023. The size and scale of the licensed stores mean that they are likely to proceed at different paces, but first injection of CO2 could come as early as four to six years after the licence award.

The Government’s Ten-Point Plan, published in November 2020, supported the establishment of carbon capture, usage and storage in four clusters - in areas such as the North East, the Humber, North West, Scotland and Wales – encouraging private sector investment.

Andy Samuel, NSTA Chief Executive, said:

“This is an important day on the path to net zero emissions. In addition to the huge environmental benefits of significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, the facilities will provide opportunities for many thousands of highly-skilled jobs.

“Carbon storage is going to be needed across the world. There is growing investor appetite and we are keen to accelerate development of the carbon storage sector so that UK is well-positioned to be a global leader.

“The NSTA is ready to work with industry, government, regulators and others to deliver these exciting projects at pace.”

Energy & Climate Change Minister Greg Hands said:

“We’re determined to make the UK a world leader in carbon capture, which will be crucial in helping us reduce emissions and protect the viability and competitiveness of British industry.

“This licensing round is an important step in making this a reality, helping support new jobs across the UK and encouraging investment in our industrial heartlands.”