Imperial College London has launched the London Register of Subsurface CO2 Storage, the first publicly accessible scientific record tracking how much CO2 has been permanently stored underground by projects worldwide.
The initial publication covers all documented storage activity from 1996 through 2024, offering what researchers describe as a long-needed transparent baseline for global deployment.
The Register includes a detailed project-level database and an annual report summarizing volumes, data sources, and the assurance review conducted independently by DNV. The initiative is supported by a consortium spanning academia, industry, and international climate organizations.
384 Million tons Stored to Date, With Gigaton Milestone in Sight
According to the Register, more than 384 million tons of CO2 have been injected and securely stored since 1996. Current growth rates put global storage on course to surpass 1 gigaton by 2030, signaling that large-scale geological storage is accelerating faster than many legacy projections.
In 2023, currently the most complete year on record, over 45 million tons of CO2 were stored worldwide. The Register notes that this annual figure is equivalent to the emissions avoided by 50–150 TWh of renewable electricity generation, more than the yearly renewable output of many countries, including the UK.
The data confirms that commercial-scale storage is already operating across North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and China, demonstrating that CCS deployment is viable across a broad range of geological formations and policy frameworks.
Relevant: Aramis CCS Project Launches Tender For Offshore CO2 Pipeline
Researchers behind the Register underscore that the findings reinforce a critical message: geological CO2 storage is no longer a future concept, but a proven, scalable climate technology already delivering material emissions reductions.
The team argues that visibility into cumulative global storage helps counter misconceptions about the maturity of CCS and highlights its central role in both emissions reduction and atmospheric CO2 removal.
The Register’s launch marks a milestone for transparency and scientific rigor in the climate technology landscape. As its creators emphasize, the data provides “a very hopeful message” that society already has the tools needed for large-scale climate mitigation, and that those tools are being deployed around the world today.
Read more: Japan CCUS Capacity Set For 30x Growth By 2035, Wood Mackenzie Says
