Government backs carbon capture to tune of £22bn
HyNet, a network of pipes that will carry captured emissions to be sequestered under Liverpool Bay, is one of two projects that will be funded over the next 25 years.
The government announced today it would invest £21.7bn in HyNet and another carbon capture facility in Teesside over the next quarter of a century in a bid to become a world leader in clean energy production.
“This game-changing technology will bring 4,000 good jobs and billions of private investment into communities across Merseyside and Teesside, igniting growth in these industrial heartlands and powering up the rest of the country,” said Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
“Working in partnership with business is at the heart of our plan to deliver strong growth and investment, so we can rebuild Britain and make everyone better off.”
HyNet is a low-carbon cluster that will enable carbon capture and storage and low-carbon hydrogen infrastructure at large scale, enabling industry to decarbonise.
EET’s Stanlow Refinery is at the heart of the HyNet network.
From 2025, HyNet North West will begin to convert natural gas into low-carbon hydrogen at the refinery, with carbon dioxide safely captured and stored offshore in the depleted Liverpool Bay gas fields.
The hope of those involved in the project is that HyNet will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide produced by industry by up to 10m tonnes every year.
David Parkin, chair of the HyNet Alliance said: “HyNet was formed to meet the demands of industry wanting to decarbonise to deliver sustainable products and compete in the global low carbon economy.
“We need to decarbonise, not by de-industrialising, but by investing in the industries of the future that we rely on for the everyday products in our lives – from the glass bottles we use for our food and drink to the cement we use to build roads and buildings.”
Partners in HyNet North West include Progressive Energy, Cadent, CF Fertilisers, Eni UK, Essar, Hanson, Inovyn (part of the Ineos group) and the University of Chester.
Chair of Cheshire and Warrington’s sub-regional leaders board Cllr Louise Gittins said: “This is excellent news for Cheshire and Warrington bringing £5.5 billion of investment and 6000 new jobs to the area.
“The three local authorities are committed to making Cheshire and Warrington the healthiest, most sustainable, inclusive and growing economy in the UK and this investment is a further substantial step towards that vision. It is also the key first part in our even more ambitious £30bn plan that will make the North West and North Wales the home of the UK and the world’s first net zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040.”
