UK CO2 storage project that will reuse existing infrastructure secures lease

July 27, 2026, by Nadja Skopljak

Liverpool Bay CCS Limited (LBCCS) has entered into a lease with The Crown Estate for its CO2 transportation and storage project offshore the UK, the country’s first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project to repurpose existing infrastructure.

The Liverpool Bay CCS project will operate as the backbone of the HyNet Cluster to transport CO2 from capture plants across the North West of England and North Wales through new and repurposed infrastructure to permanent storage in Eni’s depleted natural gas reservoirs.

The project will reuse more than 75 miles of existing pipelines, three offshore structures and an onshore treatment plant, alongside 21 miles of new pipeline connecting industrial facilities across the region to the Liverpool Bay transport and storage network.

The lease enables LBCCS, part of Eni CCUS Holding group, to access the seabed and utilize former infrastructure to transport and store CO2 from industries within the HyNet Cluster.

CO2 will initially be captured from the cement, low-carbon hydrogen and energy-from-waste sectors before being permanently stored in depleted offshore gas reservoirs beneath Liverpool Bay.

Stefano Rovelli, Managing Director for LBCCS, said: “This lease with The Crown Estate is another important step for the Liverpool Bay T&S infrastructure which will serve the wider HyNet cluster. Repurposing our existing infrastructure helps to speed up the process by which we can tackle CO2 emissions from industry in the North West of England and North Wales, supporting economic growth in the region as part of the UK’s journey to Net Zero.”

The project’s first phase is expected to store 109 million tons of CO2 over its operational life, with an initial storage capacity of 4.5 million tons per annum and the potential to expand to 10 million tons per annum after 2030. The project is expected to support around 2,000 jobs during construction and unlock approximately £2 billion of supply chain investment.

HyNet North West was selected in October 2021 as a UK Government Track-1 CCUS cluster. The Liverpool Bay CCS project was awarded an Agreement for Lease by The Crown Estate in August 2024 and reached financial close eight months later in April 2025. First injection is expected in 2028 in line with the delivery timetable of industrial emitters within the HyNet Cluster.

Eni began constructing the team for the project shortly after it had disclosed reaching financial close with the UK’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), allowing the project to move to the construction phase.

Italy’s Saipem won a contract that entails the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and assistance to the commissioning of a new CO2 electrical compression station, which will be integrated with the offshore and onshore segments of the overall development, while compatriot Rosetti Marino secured the full EPC scope for the delivery of four platforms to be used for CO2 storage in depleted reservoirs.

Greek Corinth Pipeworks, part of Cenergy Holdings, will deliver steel pipes, and JDR Cable Systems will deliver around 100 kilometers of 33 kV subsea cables for the project.