ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Clim.
Sec. Carbon Dioxide Removal
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fclim.2025.1685187
Permanent storage of carbon dioxide in mafic rock formations: exploring Sweden's potential
Provisionally accepted
- Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden
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Mineral carbonation in reactive bedrock offers a rapid and permanent method for carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration, converting CO2 into stable mineral phases within a geologically short timeframe. This study presents the first-ever systematic assessment of onshore CO2 mineral storage potential in Sweden, based on fieldwork, sampling, and mineralogical and geochemical analyses conducted at 23 localities. While this theoretical assessment cannot resolve uncertainties related to reactivity, dissolution capacity, and sequestration efficiency, it provides a critical foundation for identifying potentially favorable storage reservoirs. The findings highlight the Örnsköldsvik and Sundsvall areas in central Sweden, hosting a gabbro-anorthosite complex together with a set of dolerites, as the more suitable lithologies for onshore CO2 storage. These rocks are distinguished by their high content of reactive minerals—including olivine, Ca-rich plagioclase, and clinopyroxene— and low content of alteration phases. In the few locations where secondary phases such as serpentine and chlorite were observed, they were confined to grain boundaries and microfractures and did not appear to be pervasive throughout the rock. This preservation of primary mineralogy and textures supports the interpretation that these two lithologies are among the most suitable for CO2 mineral storage within the studied rock formations, under geochemical and thermal conditions favorable for mineral carbonation. This work provides the necessary foundation for future and ongoing experimental validation of reactivity and permeability and detailed site-specific investigations.
Keywords: CO2 sequestration1, mineral carbonation2, mafic rocks3, Sweden4, BECCS5, CCM6
Received: 13 Aug 2025; Accepted: 29 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Crafoord, Wanhainen and Bark. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Emelie Crafoord, emelie.crafoord@ltu.se
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