[London, 25 July 2024] – The Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) welcomes the GB Energy/Crown Estate partnership and urges the Government to provide clarity on carbon capture investment plans.
Today’s announcement that GB Energy and The Crown Estate are partnering to invest in clean power is another important step by the Government towards the UK meeting climate targets.
The Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) industry now needs to understand from the Government details around the commitment to invest in carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen.
Over the past three years, there has been important progress to develop the world’s first large-scale integrated CCUS clusters in the UK, with significant amounts of private capital invested in projects. With £1 billion promised from the National Wealth Fund to accelerate the deployment of CCUS and the Government confirming support for the Cluster Sequencing Programme, the industry is seeking clarity on the operation and function of GB Energy in relation to the deployment of CCUS, hydrogen production and creation of robust supply chains.
With Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) due to be taken in September for Track-1 Clusters, and further clarity required on project selection and next steps for Track-1 Expansion and Track-2 clusters, any additional investment from GB Energy should be used to accelerate infrastructure investment beyond current plans.
The Government has an exciting opportunity to position the UK as a global leader in carbon capture technology and it is vitally important that investment speeds up the deployment of UK clusters, by focusing on providing additionality in areas such as supply chain and investment in UK ports to safeguard investor confidence.
Ruth Herbert, Chief Executive of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association has said:
“We look forward to seeing GB Energy invest alongside the private sector in shared strategic energy infrastructure where there are long term benefits for the economy, but it is difficult for the private sector to do alone.”
“UK ports and local supply chains could benefit from this kind of partnership. Public sector capital should be used where it can reduce risk and bring down the cost of private capital, enabling industry to develop and operate infrastructure that is fit to serve a low carbon economy and the net zero industries of the future.”
Notes to Editors
CCUS, or Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage, is a key low carbon solution – vital to meeting the UK’s statutory Net Zero target at least cost. CCUS enables industrial decarbonisation as well as the production of clean power, clean products (such as steel and cement) and clean hydrogen – which can also be used to decarbonise industry. In addition, CCUS also enables greenhouse gas removal from the atmosphere through Direct Air Capture with Storage (DACS) or Bioenergy with CCS (BECCS).
The CCSA is the trade association accelerating the commercial deployment of CCUS, with offices in the UK and Belgium. We work with members, governments and other organisations to ensure CCUS is developed and deployed at the pace and scale necessary to meet net zero goals and deliver sustainable growth across regions and nations.
The CCSA currently has over 100 member companies who are active in exploring and developing different applications of carbon capture and removals, CO2 transportation by pipeline and ship, utilisation, geological storage, and other permanent storage solutions, end-users in the power, industry, waste management, fuels, and hydrogen production sectors, plus supply chain, engineering, construction and management, legal and financial consulting sectors.
For media enquiries please contact Joe Butler-Trewin on 07908 141 067/ joe.butler-trewin@ccsassociation.org
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