How "Boaty McBoatface" is making Carbon Capture and Storage safe

The Clean Growth Strategy is providing renewed focus for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) development in the UK. With the country’s natural resources providing ample storage capacity, CCS is a cost- effective opportunity that has a significant role to play in meeting the UK’s decarbonisation targets by 2050.

In 2012 the ETI identified the CO₂ storage potential for the UK in a project that developed an online atlas – CO2Stored – now hosted by The Crown Estate and the British Geological Survey (BGS). Now, in collaboration with a number of project partners – Fugro GB Marine, Sonardyne International Ltd, the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), BGS, Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the University of Southampton – the ETI has developed a marine monitoring system using marine robotics to provide assurance that the CO₂ is safely and securely stored.

The ETI’s director, for programme delivery, Mark Illingworth, explains how research from the project will support industry to make not only practical, but economical investment decisions for CCS monitoring, identifying the most effective tools to ensure CO₂ is safely stored, legislative requirements are met and public confidence in CCS is gained and maintained.