Once the storage sites are in operation, they are expected to store up to 30 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030, approximately 10 per cent of the UK's annual emissions.
The licences cover an area of around 12,000 square kilometres in size, located near Aberdeen, Teesside, Liverpool and Lincolnshire.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology involves filtering carbon from industrial smokestacks before it hits the atmosphere and storing it underground, to avoid it being held in the atmosphere and contributing to global warming.
According to the NSTA, the licences include a range of geological store types and were selected following a process that considered attributes such as geology, proximity to existing infrastructure and links to industrial clusters that are expecting carbon storage to be available to help meet decarbonisation goals.
Nineteen companies applied for the licences, but only 12 were awarded these permissions, the NSTA has revealed...