Subsurface storage of biochar - a durable carbon removal pathway
Project Overview
Subsurface storage offers a low-cost, large-scale carbon store. The UK has extensive subsurface and near-surface assets, including salt caverns, mine workings and quarry voids, s, yet their potential for biochar storage remains largely unexplored. By addressing this gap, this project will open a new application area for UK net-zero planning and position Leeds as a leader in this emerging field.
Key outputs will include a structured database, interactive visualisations, and a dedicated subsurface storage module within the Biochar Insight decision-support platform. Together, these resources will support future research, strategic partnerships, and external funding opportunities.
The project expands the Geosolutions Leeds subsurface research portfolio into biomass-derived carbon storage, a promising yet underexplored application of subsurface science. By treating biochar as a stable, engineered carbon material whose climate benefit depends on secure long-term storage, the project directly aligns with core expertise in storage characterisation, containment, risk assessment, and monitoring.
The resulting evidence base and scenario database will also support teaching and training activities across the University. Students and researchers will be able to explore how storage capacity, geological suitability, environmental risk, and techno-economic performance interact to shape regional greenhouse gas removal deployment strategies.
Impact
The project will deliver:
- Research Impact: The project will establish the first comprehensive evidence base for UK biochar subsurface storage, enabling future research on environmental permanence, engineered containment, environmental monitoring, and field-scale validation.
- Policy and Industry Impact: Regional storage capacity assessments and policy-focused outputs will provide actionable evidence for UK greenhouse gas removal (GGR) strategies. The findings will also create new opportunities for owners and operators of mines, caverns, and quarry assets by identifying pathways to repurpose underutilised infrastructure for durable carbon storage.
- Institutional Impact: The project will act as a catalyst for follow-on funding applications to UKRI GGR programmes, including future greenhouse gas removal demonstrators, EPSRC net-zero initiatives, and Innovate UK industrial decarbonisation schemes. These activities will support the scale-up of subsurface biochar storage as a durable carbon removal pathway while strengthening collaborations between academia, industry, and government.
Project duration: 1 October 2026 - 31 January 2027
Research Team