The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has opened a carbon storage licensing round offering 14 locations in Scottish and English waters for exploration and appraisal, and with potential to provide future capacity to support industrial decarbonization for the UK and Europe.
The areas which will be offered fall into two broad categories, depleted hydrocarbon fields selected by the NSTA, and saline aquifer sites identified following a ‘Call for Nominations’ which earlier this year enabled industry partners to indicate sites of interest which offered a greater chance of successful project delivery.
These areas were chosen following extensive consultation with the Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland, among others.
Five areas will be in Scottish waters, with nine off the coast of England. Successful applicants for a carbon storage license from the NSTA will require a seabed agreement from either Crown Estate Scotland or the Crown Estate in English waters, before a project can progress.
The NSTA will continue to work with both Crown Estate Scotland and the Crown Estate to explore opportunities to align licensing and leasing approaches in order to streamline application processes for developers.
CCS involves the geological storage of captured CO2 emissions from industrial processes and will play a crucial role in decarbonizing the UK’s major industrial hubs. This CO2 is then transported from where it was produced and stored offshore, deep underground in geological formations.
The UK’s first carbon storage licensing round in September 2023 saw the award of 21 carbon storage licenses. The NSTA subsequently awarded the first storage permits to two projects - Endurance and HyNet - allowing them to proceed towards first injection.
The Endurance site, off the coast of Teesside, which could store up to 100 million tonnes of CO2, received a permit in December 2024, and Liverpool Bay-based HyNet, which could also store up to 100 mt CO2 over 25 years, received three permits in April 2025.
The projects, funded from the UK’s government’s commitment of up $28.9 billion (£21.7 billion), could contribute around $6.6 billion (£5 billion) per year of gross value to the UK economy by 2050 and create 50,000 jobs long-term.
It is important that momentum is maintained. The Climate Change Committee concluded that there was no viable path to net zero by 2050 without carbon storage.
The Licensing Round will run until Tuesday March 24, 2026 after which applications will be reviewed with a view to awarding licenses in early 2027.
“The UK Government has signaled its total support for carbon storage and the jobs and investment it can create as a vital part of the energy transition.
“We are proud to be launching this licensing round, working in collaboration with other authorities especially Crown Estate Scotland and The Crown Estate to support this vital industry in the next stage of its development,” said Stuart Payne, NSTA Chief Executive.