Government commits to CCUS plant 'up and running from the mid-2020s'

The announcement was made at the International CCUS Summit taking place in Edinburgh, an event co-chaired by Claire Perry, UK minister for Clean Energy and Growth, and Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director.

Plans to kickstart CCUS in Britain include an investment of £20m to support the construction of CCUS technologies at industrial sites, and up to £315m to decarbonise industry, which will include the potential use of CCUS. Work will also be carried out with the Oil and Gas Authority, industry and the Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland to identify existing oil and gas infrastructure that could host CCUS projects.

“The UK is setting a world-leading ambition for developing and deploying carbon capture and storage technology to cut emissions,” said Perry. “The time is now to seize this challenge to tackle climate change while kick-starting an entirely new industry.”

Energy-intensive industries currently produce approximately 24 per cent of global emissions. IEA estimates over 450 Mt of CO2 emissions could be captured for use or storage each year with an incentive equivalent to less than $40 per tonne of CO2.