The UK’s Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) industry has reached a critical juncture. Years of planning and persistence are now paying off: five Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) have been secured, allowing the first major projects to break ground and start construction. CCUS is no longer an ambition – it’s becoming the cornerstone of Britain’s clean industrial future.
With the Autumn Budget fast approaching, the CCSA has put forward non-fiscal recommendations to the Treasury aimed at accelerating progress towards a thrilling, self-sustaining CCUS sector that decarbonises industries and delivers low carbon power.
The Chancellor has recently set out her ambition “to invest in our infrastructure and our industry to build a stronger economy.” That message is important for CCUS deployment. The UK faces a challenging economic landscape, shaped by sluggish global growth, inflationary pressures and tight fiscal conditions. However, CCUS can unlock growth and deliver lasting economic strength – building resilience, productivity and prosperity for the decades ahead.
Why CCUS matters now
That is why the Government must build on the progress made in the recent Spending Review. CCUS is an economic lifeline and will unlock billions in private investment, revitalise industrial regions, and secure jobs across the country – from pipeline welders in the North West to offshore engineers in Aberdeen and scientists pioneering new carbon utilisation technologies.
Delivering the first four industrial clusters will add £8 billion in GVA annually by 2030, rising to £94 billion by 2050, with more than 80% of the supply chain deliverable by UK firms. The emerging CO₂ storage industry alone could be worth £30 billion a year by mid-century, creating a major new export market for British expertise.
But this is also about what we stand to lose if we don’t act. Without CCUS, millions more tonnes of CO₂ will continue to enter our atmosphere every year – warming our planet, worsening air quality, and eroding the natural environment we depend on. The cost of inaction is far higher than the cost of investment. Failing to decarbonise essential industries like cement, chemicals and refining not only puts jobs at risk, but weakens their long-term competitiveness – and in doing so, jeopardises our health, our climate and the prosperity of future generations.
CCUS, alongside Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGRs) has rightly been recognised by the Government as a ‘frontier industry’ in its Industrial Strategy. From enabling the production of low carbon cement for the homes of the future, to sustaining the energy expertise developed in the North Sea and supporting a just transition for workers and communities, CCUS offers a chance to reimagine British industry – not as a legacy of the past, but as a global leader in clean technology.
CCUS priorities for the Autumn Budget
The Autumn Budget presents an opportunity to accelerate progress towards creating a thriving, self-sustaining CCUS sector that decarbonises industries and delivers low-carbon power. With the UK now delivering the first projects across our industrial heartlands, millions of tonnes of CO₂ will soon be captured and stored, ensuring that our vital foundational industries remain active and competitive.
The UK can cement its position as a global CCUS leader by taking forward three actions that signal long-term commitment and can strengthen investor confidence:
1. Maintain momentum on current projects
Following the Government commitment made at the Spending Review, we now need to see this development funding deployed swiftly to Viking CCS and the Acorn Project, the next two industrial clusters, to keep them on track to reach financial close within this parliament. This will complement the progress already underway on the East Coast Cluster and HyNet, enabling further capture projects to advance for connection to these clusters in construction.
2. Provide a clear route to market for new projects
Provide a clear route to market and an allocation framework for the next CCUS projects required to meet decarbonisation goals and sustain critical foundational industries. In doing so this must also accelerate the development of market frameworks for CO₂ transport by ship, road and rail to complement the pipeline projects that are already underway.
3. Create markets for low-carbon products and removals
Implement enabling policies and regulations to stimulate markets for low-carbon products, carbon removals, and European-wide CO₂ storage. This will create supportive revenue markets for CCUS projects that will enable the transition to a self-sustaining sector.
Taken together, these steps will ensure that the UK maximises the economic opportunity CCUS offers and shifts the industry towards a merchant model, not reliant on government subsidise – an industrial ecosystem ready for the 2030s and beyond.
Building a clean future
The story of Britain’s industrial heartlands – Teesside, the Humber, the North West, South Wales, Derbyshire & Staffordshire, and Scotland – is the story of modern Britain itself. These regions powered the Industrial Revolution, built the nation’s prosperity, and shaped our identity as a world-leading manufacturing power.
Despite decades of industrial decline, that story is not over. CCUS offers a way to honour that legacy while building a modern, clean-energy economy rooted in those same communities.
New projects are bringing investment, apprenticeships, and pride back to these regions. The expertise developed in the North Sea – in geology, offshore engineering, and large-scale project delivery – can be redeployed to store carbon safely beneath the seabed. The same skills that have maintained Britain’s energy security will now also underpin its decarbonisation.
This is more than climate policy – it’s industrial renewal. When people can build skilled, well-paid careers where they grew up, producing the low-carbon materials that will build our homes, hospitals and infrastructure, the transition to net zero becomes tangible, local and proudly British.
We now need to maintain momentum on CCUS deployment to build a stronger economy. The Chancellor has a huge opportunity at this Budget to do exactly that with the actions set out above – many of which come at minimal cost to the Exchequer, but with maximum benefit for Britain’s industry, environment and long-term prosperity. (more…)