Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a set of technologies that separate carbon dioxide from the exhaust of a power station or industrial plant, compress it and send it by pipeline or ship to be stored permanently in rock formations deep underground. When some of the captured CO2 is used to make products, the term CCUS (carbon capture, usage and storage) is used.
How it works
- Capture. Most projects use a chemical solvent that absorbs CO2 from flue gas. The solvent is then heated to release a pure stream of CO2 and reused.
- Transport. The CO2 is compressed and sent through pipelines, shared by several emitters in the same area.
- Storage. It is injected into depleted oil and gas fields or saline aquifers deep below the seabed, where layers of impermeable rock keep it in place.
The UK programme
The government is building CCUS around industrial “clusters”, where many emitters can share one pipeline and store.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Acorn (north-east Scotland) and Viking (Humber) named as Track-2 clusters | July 2023 |
| £21.7 billion committed over 25 years for the first projects in north-west and north-east England | 4 October 2024 |
| East Coast Cluster pipeline and store (Northern Endurance Partnership) and Net Zero Teesside Power reach financial close, a UK first | 10 December 2024 |
| HyNet pipeline and store (north-west England and north Wales) reaches financial close | 24 April 2025 |
The two Track-1 clusters are the East Coast Cluster, covering Teesside and the Humber, and HyNet. Net Zero Teesside Power is a gas-fired power station fitted with carbon capture, with its CO2 stored in the Endurance store under the North Sea. The government says it could power up to one million homes and is due to start operating from 2028.
Why it matters
CCS is aimed at emissions that are hard to remove any other way, such as cement, chemicals and waste incineration, and at producing low-carbon hydrogen from gas. Critics point to its cost, its record of delays worldwide and the risk that it prolongs the use of fossil fuels. Whether the UK clusters capture as much CO2 as planned will decide how big a role it plays.