Chancellor Rachel Reeves has today announced an investment of £28.6m into the world’s largest carbon capture project through the National Wealth Fund
The Peak Cluster project will seek to establish a carbon capture pipeline between cement and lime companies in the Peak District, which will store emissions below the Irish Sea.
The project is the world’s largest cement decarbonisation project, with the potential to stop 3m tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year.
A further £31m will be provided by private partners such as Holcim, Tarmac, Breedon, SigmaRoc, Summit Energy Evolution, and Progressive Energy.
Thousands of jobs to be created
Up to 3,500 jobs could be created across Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and the North West thanks to the investment.
Another project, the Morecambe Net Zero project, could create another 13,000 jobs in the Midlands and North West.
National Wealth Fund’s first investment into carbon capture
This will be the National Wealth Fund’s first investment into carbon capture, and will tackle one of the sectors that is most difficult to decarbonise, with cement and lime both causing high emissions in their creation process.
Carbon capture is becoming an increasingly popular method of decarbonisation, with the first cement works utilising the technology securing planning approval in April this year.
“This landmark investment will catalyse our carbon capture sector”
Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “The National Wealth Fund is a force for growth, investing £3bn into the British economy and securing 12,500 jobs.
“We’re modernising the cement and lime industry, delivering vital carbon capture infrastructure and creating jobs across Derbyshire, Staffordshire and the North West to put more money into working people’s pockets.”
Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “This landmark investment will catalyse our carbon capture sector to deliver thousands of highly skilled jobs and growth across our industrial heartlands, as part of our Plan for Change.
“Workers in the North Sea and Britain’s manufacturing heartlands will drive forward the country’s industrial renewal, positioning them at the forefront of the UK’s clean energy transition.”
John Flint, CEO of the National Wealth Fund, said: “Substantial private investment, deployed at risk, will be needed to develop and deliver carbon capture projects across the UK. Through its investments, the NWF is well placed to support this. Capital must be committed now, especially in hard to abate sectors such as cement and lime, to ensure a pipeline of projects is ready for deployment and the UK is able to meet its ambitious carbon capture targets.
“The NWF has played a key role in structuring the transaction to crowd in private sector co-investment while taking early development risk to catalyse future investment. Our involvement demonstrates how we can use our risk capital to solve problems and manage investment uncertainty, amplifying government policy and ultimately removing the barriers for private investors to support this project post-FID.”
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