October News

A decade ago CCUS (carbon capture, usage and storage) had a high profile, even in the mainstream media, and looked poised to be adopted as a key technology in global and national efforts to mitigate the effects of CO2-related climate change. At that time we worked as part of a large consortium (LR Senergy, British Geological Survey, Scottish Centre for Carbon Storage, Durham University, GeoPressure Technology, Imperial College London, RPS Energy, and Element Energy) on a prestigious £4m project to assess of the overall UK carbon dioxide storage capacity in offshore geological formations. Then the UK government did an abrupt U-turn … and any hope for CCUS in the UK seemed to be over.

Fast-forward to today, and CCUS is back in focus again – we’re now well past the Peak of Inflated Expectations and through the Trough of Disillusionment, and things are actually happening! Working with our colleagues in university spin-out Geoenergy Durham, we’re currently very busy supporting WSP’s current activities to provide UK government (BEIS) with technical advice on CCUS projects. Let’s hope that UK ministers stay firmly on the upward Slope of Enlightenment this time (no more U-turns)!