Tracking CO₂ storage project
capacity in Europe

Geological storage of CO₂ will need to be rapidly scaled up to help Europe meet its climate goals. CATF’s European CO₂ storage tracker shows the target annual and total capacities that have been publicly announced by CO₂ storage projects across Europe. Capacity projections reflect estimated expansion rates between announced target milestones. Project expansion rates and final injection capacities are likely to be more constrained in practice (see discussion and data sources).

• Only 10% of this annual capacity is located in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe. Many CO₂ sources in these regions will not be able to access North Sea storage at reasonable cost.
• Storage capacity in the UK is currently unavailable to CO₂ from the EU due to regulatory barriers – primarily the legal separation of the Emissions Trading Systems.
• The scale-up of injection capacity announced by several projects is ambitious, and storage project development can take at least 5 years. Only two storage sites, (associated with Northern Lights and Porthos) are under construction today.
• There is significant uncertainty in the actual injection capacities that can be realised at a given site until more detailed characterisation has taken place.

Growth in CO₂ storage capacity (in MtCO₂/year) based on current project announcements

Announced CO₂ storage projects in Europe, scaled according to maximum annual injection capacity in MtCO₂/year. Areas in light green show regions of suitable storage geology as mapped by CO₂StoP.