UK Government awards £26m for carbon capture, utilisation and storage

The finance will be shared among nine projects, including the nation’s largest emissions-capturing facility to date

The UK Government has awarded £26 million of new funding to accelerate the development of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies.

The finance, in addition to industry backing, will be shared among nine companies working on CCUS solutions, which capture emissions from power stations and carbon-intensive industries such as cement, chemicals, steel and oil refining – these sectors currently produce around a quarter of global emissions.

The government notes capturing the polluting gases will prove a crucial step towards going net zero and ending the UK’s contribution to the climate change crisis.

Once captured, they can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from manufacturing concrete to making beer fizzy, or can be permanently stored underground.

A £4.2 million portion of the funding has been awarded to Tata Chemicals Europe’s soda ash and sodium bicarbonate plant in Cheshire, which is expected to be able to remove 100 times more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than is possible at the country’s current largest facility.

Once it becomes operational in 2021, it is forecast to capture 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, equivalent to the emissions of 22,000 cars.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Chris Skidmore said: “CCUS has an essential role to play in our efforts to tackle climate change, helping us to meet our ambition to end our contribution to global warming entirely by 2050.

“The funding the government is awarding today puts the UK at the forefront of the rollout of this technology and demonstrates how our Clean Growth Strategy is delivering for all parts of the country.”

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