Synergia Energy, a natural gas assets developer, has secured a carbon capture and storage (CCS) licence from the UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA).

The company said it made the CS01_2022_APP25 (Camelot) licence application with Wintershall Dea, its 50:50 partner.

In CCS, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from industrial activities are captured and subsequently stored underground in geological formations.

By 2030, Britain plans to use CCS to store up to 30 million tonnes of CO₂ annually.

The licence, which was awarded under the NSTA’s first carbon storage licensing round, marks a “significant milestone” for Synergia Energy’s Medway Hub CCS project, the company said.

Synergia Energy is the operator of the Medway Hub CCS project.

It stated that the Medway Hub CCS project enables the capture and transportation of CO₂ emissions from coastal combined-cycle gas turbine power plants.

CO₂ will be transferred to a floating injection, storage and offloading vessel (FISO) in liquid form.

From the FISO, the CO₂ will be injected into exhausted gas fields and saline aquifers on the UK Continental Shelf.

Synergia Energy CEO Roland Wessel said: “The company has been working closely with Wintershall Dea over the last 12 months to develop the Medway Hub CCS project and prepare the carbon storage licence applications.

“Synergia is delighted to have Wintershall Dea as partners in the Medway Hub CCS project given Wintershall Dea’s significant involvement in CCS projects in Norway and Denmark.”