UK government grants new CCS licenses to unlock carbon capture potential, OEUK reports

(WO) – The UK government’s newly announced proposal to grant carbon dioxide transport and storage licenses to Liverpool Bay CCS Limited (Hynet) and Net Zero North Sea Storage Limited - the East Coast Cluster round Humberside and Teesside as been welcomed by the country’s largest offshore trade group.

According to Offshore Energies UK, these licenses, known as the Track 1 clusters, will establish the economic framework for projects to transport carbon dioxide captured from emitters in industrial clusters and safely sequestering it in geological stores under the sea, paving the way for them to reach final investment decision.

This proposal marks a significant milestone in unlocking the potential of the UK’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) sector. Track-1 clusters will build the foundational infrastructure necessary to scale up CCS, a technology that has been deemed by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) to be a necessity, not an option to reach net zero.

Industrial decarbonization, low carbon hydrogen production and the provision of low carbon dispatchable power needed to meet the new government’s 2030 target, will all rely on the successful deployment of these clusters.

Getting this right has enormous potential. The successful implementation of CCS will be crucial for the UK to cut emissions while creating and protecting over 100,000 jobs up and down the country. The sector could be worth £100bn to the economy by 2050.

The UK already has the components necessary to make CCS a success including the largest carbon dioxide offshore storage potential in Europe, highly transferable capabilities from our oil & gas sector and the opportunity to reuse existing energy infrastructure.

Commenting, Enrique Cornejo, OEUK Head of Policy said, “We urge government to ensure funding arrangements, permits and consents are in place to enable these projects to reach final investment decision. To build a competitive and future self-sustaining market, it is crucial to establish a clear funding deployment timeline for the £20bn of government support allocated to the sector, and progress Track 2 clusters at pace.

There must also be a clear route to market for emitters and transport and storage projects outside of the Track process, which will, in turn, create a consistent pipeline of work for the supply chain. Furthermore, accelerating policies to maximize our significant storage potential is essential. This includes enabling non-pipeline transportation methods and removing barriers to enable a cross-border storage market. It is vital that the UK fully capitalize on its carbon dioxide storage capabilities which will be essential to deliver a timely, homegrown energy transition.”