Map: UK offshore carbon capture and storage projects

The UK’s offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) sector is entering a pivotal phase, with major industrial clusters progressing towards deployment.

However, despite growing momentum and significant government backing, industry leaders warn that future progress hinges on clearer policy direction and sustained investment.

While major projects in Teesside and the North West of England have made significant strides as part of the UK government’s track-1 programme, track-2 projects in Scotland and the Humber are facing delays and uncertainty.

Energy Voice takes a look at the current status of UK offshore CCS projects, and future developments on the horizon.

East Coast Cluster

The East Coast Cluster, centred on Teesside and the Humber, is being led by the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), a consortium including BP, Equinor and TotalEnergies.

The NEP partnership reached financial close on the £4bn project in 2024, paving the way for construction to begin on extensive infrastructure, including a 145-kilometre CO₂ pipeline and offshore storage facilities in the North Sea.

Operations are expected to begin in 2028, with initial capacity to store four million tonnes of CO₂ annually, scaling up to more than 20 million tonnes by the mid-2030s.

© Supplied by Equinor

In Teesside, the £4bn NST Power gas-fired power station with integrated carbon capture is also moving forward, marking the UK’s first commercially viable CCS power generation project.

The facility will feed into the wider East Coast infrastructure, using the same offshore storage sites.

HyNet North West

The UK government has also backed the £2bn HyNet project in the North West of England.

The project will see CO2 emissions captured from industrial emitters around Liverpool and Manchester before transport via pipeline for storage offshore in Liverpool Bay.

The plans also include blue hydrogen production, hydrogen storage and a hydrogen pipeline to decarbonise various industrial processes in the region.

Backed by Italian energy company Eni, the HyNet cluster is expected to remove 4.5 million tonnes of CO₂ per year in its early stages, rising to 10 million tonnes by the end of the decade.

© Supplied by HyNet

Alongside Eni, HyNet partners include EET Hydrogen, cement producer Heidelberg Materials and waste management firm Viridor.

Construction of the Liverpool Bay CCS network will support close to 2,000 direct jobs as well as safeguarding an estimated 350,000 industrial jobs in the region.

Both track-1 projects are forecast to create thousands of jobs and are seen as central to the UK’s strategy for decarbonising heavy industry.

The government has committed up to £21.7 billion to support CCS development, including direct investment, subsidies and regulatory support.

Track-2: Acorn and Viking CCS

Meanwhile, the second stage of CCS projects is progressing after the UK government recently allocated further development support to projects in Scotland and the Humber.

The Acorn Project, located in northeast Scotland and led by Storegga, is designed to repurpose existing North Sea infrastructure to store CO₂ in depleted gas fields.

It aims to become a hub for emissions captured from Scotland and beyond, with potential to scale rapidly.

© Supplied by Storegga

The Viking CCS project, led by Harbour Energy, will store CO₂ in saline aquifers under the Southern North Sea, with links to heavy industry across the Humber region.

Both projects were shortlisted for track-2 status in 2023 and are now progressing towards commercial agreements.

However, industry leaders stress that final investment decisions will depend on clear policy signals, contractual certainty and long-term support from government.

Future UK offshore carbon capture and storage

In addition to the track-1 and track-2 projects, North Sea operators such as EnQuest, Spirit Energy, Shell and Perenco are developing their own CCS projects.

In 2023, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) regulator awarded 21 licences for offshore carbon storage sites, marking a significant step in the development of the country’s long-term CO₂ storage capacity.

Other firms to secure carbon storage licences from the NSTA include Italian firm Eni and its subsidiary Neptune Energy, and Australian firm Synergia Energy.

The NSTA is set to potentially award further licences later this year, after issuing a call for further offshore carbon storage proposals in May.

© Supplied by 7CO2

Several projects in the south of the UK are also looking at developing CO2 shipping hubs, which will transport captured emissions from southern England and Wales to offshore storage projects such as Acorn in Scotland.

These projects include the Milford Haven CO2 Project in Wales, 7CO2 in Severnside and The Solent Cluster near Southampton.

But there is uncertainty over how the UK government will fund the next phase of CCS projects, and which projects will be eligible for support.

Government progress on establishing a framework for international CO2 shipments has also been slow compared to North Sea neighbours Denmark and Norway.

Environmental groups have also raised concerns relating to blue hydrogen production, with sceptics also pointing to the failure of early stage projects to meet capture targets.

But if successfully scaled, offshore CCS projects in the UK could unlock significant economic opportunities for the UK oil and gas supply chain.