[London, 25 July 2024] – On Monday 22 July, the Carbon Capture & Storage Association (CCSA) held its annual President’s Reception in the House of Lords, hosted by CCSA President, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke.
The event was attended by almost 200 representatives from across the Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage (CCUS) industry, Members of Parliament and Government. Importantly, Sarah Jones MP, Minister of State for Departments for Energy Security & Net Zero, and Business & Trade, addressed attendees to express her continued support for CCUS and understanding of the need to secure Track-1 Final Investment Decisions as quickly as possible.
The Minister set out that the UK has a significant advantage in CCUS resulting from geological storage potential, world-leading expertise and ambition from both industry and Government to move at pace on the deployment of capture projects.
In the first two weeks of the new Government, important policy decisions have provided investors with confidence that the UK is committed to delivering CCUS and low-carbon energy infrastructure. Key to this has been the creation of the ‘Clean Power Mission Control’, the launch of the ‘National Wealth Fund’ and a clear vision for a supportive legislative landscape in the King’s Speech.
Following significant engagement between the CCSA and the new Government on the five immediate CCUS priorities in the first 100 days of government, the first step in the deployment of the Cluster Programme is within reach. The five priorities are as follows:
The CCUS industry has been encouraged by the pace of delivery from the new Government to create a low-carbon economy. However, it is important that momentum is maintained if the Government is to maximise the exciting opportunity to establish the world’s first leading large-scale integrated CCUS clusters.
Ruth Herbert, Chief Executive of the CCSA said:
“It’s been an absolute honour leading the CCUS industry through another year. We are stronger than ever and ready to deploy CCUS here in the UK, hopefully within weeks rather than months from now.”
“What makes all of the work the CCSA does worthwhile is being able to see CCUS becoming a reality. The UK is at a pivotal moment in its CCUS journey, with £30bn of private capital ready to invest before 2030 if the conditions are right.”
“Minister Jones’ commitment to delivering CCUS is very much welcome. After a busy first few weeks in office, we look forward to the Government securing final investment decisions on the first two clusters in September – a vital first step towards achieving the government’s Net Zero power and industrial decarbonisation objectives.”
Minister for Industry Decarbonisation Sarah Jones said:
“The Prime Minister has been loud and clear that clean energy by 2030 is a vital part of our mission for growth.”
“And carbon capture, along with low-carbon hydrogen, will be critical to its success.”
“We are absolutely committed to developing the UK carbon capture industry and we’re aiming to take final investment decisions on the first projects this year.”
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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