April 30, 2026 [Storage Terminals Magazine]- Industry across southwest England, the Midlands, and South Wales has moved a significant step closer to accessing the UK’s carbon capture and storage ecosystem, following a new agreement to advance a carbon capture and shipping hub at Avonmouth Docks, Port of Bristol.

Severnside Carbon and Exolum, Europe’s leading energy logistics company, have signed an agreement under which Exolum will establish a new subsidiary, Exolum 7CO₂, to invest in and lead the next phase of development of a major CO₂ storage terminal at Avonmouth. Spanish engineering firm Técnicas Reunidas will also participate as a development partner.

The terminal is set to become the UK’s first large-scale CO₂ hub designed for flexible, modular transport by rail and ship. Exolum 7CO₂ expects operations to commence from 2031, with the facility capable of handling up to six million tonnes of CO₂ per year from existing emitters, equivalent to the entire annual emissions of southwest England.

The project addresses a significant gap in the UK’s decarbonisation infrastructure. To date, only industry in four clusters in northern England and Scotland has had access to government-backed carbon capture, transport, and storage infrastructure. Approximately half of UK industrial emissions fall outside these areas, with South Wales alone accounting for 5 percent of the country’s total carbon output.

Beyond existing emitters, the terminal is also expected to support emerging industries, including regional data centres with round-the-clock carbon-free power requirements and sustainable aviation fuel projects already under development. By providing open-access CO₂ logistics, the hub aims to create a clearer pathway for energy-intensive businesses to capture, transport, and store their emissions.

Exolum has committed significant resources to the project, with a dedicated team focused on integrating the terminal with its existing UK energy infrastructure. The company said it will apply a safety-first operating approach to strengthen reliability and reduce delivery risk for customers and partners.

Severnside Carbon will continue in an advisory capacity to Exolum 7CO₂, ensuring continuity in the terminal’s development and maintaining relationships with public and private stakeholders. The company will also independently pursue its work on capture-as-a-service opportunities and a major regional sustainable aviation fuel investment.

Técnicas Reunidas will serve as engineering partner for the carbon hub through its low carbon business unit, track, contributing its experience in large-scale energy infrastructure delivery to ensure a robust and efficient project design.

Paul Davies, co-founder of Severnside Carbon, said Exolum’s investment represented a significant step forward, giving regional emitters and wider stakeholders the confidence to invest in carbon capture and related industries. Nacho Casajús, senior vice president at Exolum Global Energy Logistics, said the partnership would use the company’s logistics expertise to create an independent, open-access CO₂ terminal capable of scaling over time. Joaquín Pérez de Ayala, head of track at Técnicas Reunidas, said the project reinforced the firm’s collaboration with Exolum and added to the carbon hubs it is developing in Spain.