NEWS & INSIGHTS | Opinion
Why you shouldn’t miss the CO₂ Storage Conference 2025
Iain Martin
Iain Martin is a business-focused technical specialist with over 25 years of experience across CCUS, consultancy, and delivering first-of-a-kind projects. He leads NZTC’s CCUS roadmap where he is responsible for identifying and delivering key projects. Iain has delivered NZTC’s innovation Call for Ideas process, resulting in over 200 ideas, 20 approved projects, and more than £5 million in funding. He has also helped secure £3 million from DESNZ to deliver a first-of-a-kind direct air capture pilot plant.
Iain holds an MSc in Oil and Gas innovation and an MSc by Research in Geophysics, and he is a PMP-certified professional.
With just six weeks to go, I’m really looking forward to this year’s SPE/GESGB CO₂ Storage Conference. It’s an exciting time for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the pace of progress across the UK and Europe makes this year’s event feel especially timely.
Last year’s conference was a sell-out and marked the first time we held it fully in person. The energy in the room, the strength of the technical content and the quality of the discussion made it a standout event. As returning chair, I’m pleased to say we’ve built another strong technical programme for this year.
The message from last year’s audience was one of cautious optimism, with three themes standing out:
- The UK is ready and well prepared to scale up CCS
- There’s a clear need for speed and acceleration to meet net zero targets
- A supportive framework is essential to build a sustainable, investible CCS industry
Industry momentum since last year’s CO₂ Storage Conference
We didn’t have to wait long for action. Just a week after the conference, the UK government announced £22 billion in funding support, and by the end of the year, NEP received the UK’s first storage permit. Since then, we’ve seen real momentum:
- Projects like Northern Lights, Ravenna and Greensand progressing across Europe
- In the UK, Hynet received its storage permit, Viking and Acorn were announced in Track-2
- Perenco completed the first CO₂ injection test
And other developments like Morecambe Net Zero are moving quickly.
What to expect this year
With all this activity underway, I’m excited to open this year’s CO₂ Storage Conference. NZTC will be presenting on CCS well technology and the opportunities in cross-border CO₂ transportation, and I’m looking forward to learning more about the technical and regulatory advancements driving CCS development.
The opening session will explore progress from Final Investment Decisions (FID) to the next milestones, with perspectives from both inside and outside the Track process.
As a geoscientist, I’m particularly keen to hear from the presenters in the reservoir characterisation and MMV (monitoring, measurement and verification) session – understanding how storage is being characterised, managed and monitored is central to the success of CCS.
Why you should attend
Whether you’re new to CCS or already involved, I’d encourage you to attend. Aberdeen is a centre of subsurface expertise and the conference offers a unique opportunity to learn, network, reconnect with colleagues and make new connections.
On a company level, there are also sponsorship opportunities. SPE and GESGB are not-for-profit organisations and sponsorship is vital. Not just for delivering the conference, but for reinvesting back into the industry. Supporting the event helps fund knowledge sharing, training and bursaries for the next generation of engineers.
Looking back at last year, my lasting memories include the buzz of a full room, imaginative talks, sheep and CO₂(!) and the optimism around a CCS industry ready for action. With everything that’s happened over the past 12 months, that cautious optimism feels like it’s evolved into a stronger belief in the development and support of a growing CCS sector.
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