Report names Yorkshire and Humber as ideal CCS location

It claims that the region could attract as much as £11bn in foreign investment and a create a total of 11,000 jobs, of which 4,000 would be highly skilled relating to CCS technology.

The report comes just weeks before the government is due to announce the winners of funding and finance measures (under the electricity market reform) for a national CCS commercialisation programme, which will be co-funded by the European Union. Two major projects in Yorkshire and the Humber have been shortlisted for the funding.

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon, said: ‘This report shows us exactly why investing in the Yorkshire and Humber CCS is the right move for the government. The region has the right concentration of heavy emitters that are working together to back this infrastructure, alongside ideal storage sites in the North Sea.’

Indeed, there are plans for Siemens and David Brown to locate large factories to Yorkshire and the Humber. The investment will also help the traditional industries in the area — such as power, steel, chemicals and cement, which have been in decline since the 1960s — to adapt.