Can sandstones under the Central North Sea unlock the UK’s carbon storage potential?

Despite accounting for approximately 60 per cent of the UK’s total estimated carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage capacity, sandstones under the Central North Sea remain under-represented. This highlights a major opportunity for the Government’s clean energy growth agenda.

Due to favourable geology and proximity to onshore emission hubs, most carbon storage licences to date have been located in the Southern North Sea, with additional clusters in Liverpool Bay, Morecambe Bay and the Northern North Sea. However, the region with most storage potential lies elsewhere.

Deploying carbon capture and storage at scale is a key pillar of the UK Government’s clean growth strategy. Current ambitions are to store at least 50 million tonnes of CO₂ per year by 2030, rising to as much as 170 million tonnes annually by 2050. In order to reach this target it will be necessary to look beyond the current well-studied geographical areas.

The Liftboat Robert. © Everest@ECORD_IODP3_NSF

Extensive freshened water confirmed beneath the ocean floor off the coast of New England

For the first time, a science team, including representatives from BGS, has directly documented and sampled a freshened water system beneath the ocean floor. This major discovery comes from the initial analyses of sediment cores recovered during the International Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP³) Expedition 501.

A colour-coded analysis of the major commodities extracted from known pits per local authority region.

BGS BritPits map highlights the distribution of worked mineral commodities across Britiain

BGS’s data scientists have generated a summary map of the most commonly extracted mineral commodities by local authority area, demonstrating the diverse nature of British mineral resources.

The BGS BritPits dataset contains more than 264 000 records of onshore mineral workings located in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

In other news

Funding secured to help mitigate ground risk in UK construction sector

The BGS Common Ground project has been awarded new funding to help unlock the value of ground investigation data.

Funding awarded to map the stocks and flows of technology metals in everyday electronic devices

A new BGS project has been awarded Circular Electricals funding from Material Focus to investigate the use of technology metals in everyday electrical items.

BGS and Chile stand with the Chilean critical minerals strategy brochure at the MoU signing.

New UK/Chile partnership prioritises sustainable practices around critical raw materials

Scientists from Chile and the UK will work together to produce reliable geological information essential for the sustainable management of critical mineral deposits in Chile.

By exchanging cutting-edge technology and advanced methodologies, scientists hope to further understand and promote sustainable practices around natural resources and how such work can contribute to the responsible development of Chile’s critical minerals sector.

Your views wanted – developing a ‘Geothermal energy subsurface data portfolio’

BGS is aiming to support the growth of the sector by providing the best-available, location-specific geothermal and ground source heat information as an accessible product or service.

Call for new members and Chair to join the NERC facilities steering committees

We are looking for new members to join NERC’s facilities steering committees over the next four years. Facilities include the Geophysical Equipment Facility, Ion Microscope Facility, National Environmental Isotope Facility and Environmental Omics Facility. We are additionally looking to recruit a new Chair for the NERC Environmental Omics Facility steering committee to be appointed in 2026.

On the blog

Methods and Applications of Radioanalytical Chemistry Conference 2025

BGS and University of Nottingham PhD student Paulina Baranowska shares her experience presenting her research on nuclear forensics at her first international conference.

During the conference, Paulina had the opportunity to share the latest findings of her research project, as well as engage with scientists from all over the world to gain insights into nuclear forensics and analytical chemistry.

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