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Research update on… CO2 transport and storage
8/10/2025
10 min read
Feature
Within the context of carbon capture and storage (CCS), the UK has substantial CO2 storage potential. If all currently licensed storage sites become operational, the UK could meet its 2050 net zero ambitions while offering storage services for European CO2 import, writes Maxine Akhurst, Principal Geologist and Project Leader, BGS Edinburgh. Below is an edited and abridged synthesis of UK research on the topic commissioned by the UK Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC) over the last few years.
Transport and storage infrastructure will deliver permanent geological storage of captured CO2 regardless of its source. CO2 transport and storage will provide the foundation for net zero UK industrial growth, whether captured from process and energy-intensive industry sources, or hydrogen production and electricity generation to power industry. CO2 transport and storage could also underpin greenhouse gas (GHG) removal technologies where CO2 is captured for geological storage from biogenic or direct air capture sources, to offset hard-to-abate (residual) industrial emissions.
CO2 transport research
University of Southampton research investigated UK legal and regulatory requirements for shipping of CO2 and public perception of transport by pipeline or ships. Their outputs are relevant to all UK clusters. The research found that the regulatory landscape remains laboursome and highly complex. Some regulation is lacking, such as for CO2 transport activities at UK ports, and there is a need to simplify the overall regulation of CO2 shipping in the UK. The researchers also conducted a public consultation to assess the UK population’s response to the long distance, hundreds of kilometres, transfer of CO2 by pipelines or ships. The public did not convey strong opinions about shipping or temporary storage of CO2 in ports, but did indicate some preference for pipeline transport over shipping.
Two research investigations considered options for CO2 transport networks: Energy Systems Catapult work examined energy use and transport by shipping; while a project led by Denis Fraga at Imperial College London investigated batchwise CO2 transport by rail, road and shipping for dispersed clusters and modelling of cost.
The former found that the sequencing of CCS project deployment as ‘Tracks’ is appropriate. The requirement for CO2 pipeline transport for the Northwest, Tees Valley and Scotland clusters is clear, with funding and regulatory structures required to provide certainty to industrial investors. It is highly likely that hydrogen will be required for industry with its domestic use more uncertain, although the extent depends on future developments such as the location and extent of CO2 transport infrastructure. Also, through energy systems modelling of decarbonisation scenarios, the researchers found that the emissions reduction trajectories for industrial clusters are broadly consistent with that of the entire UK industrial sector and are expected to meet the UK’s net zero target.