This funding is part of a broader £9.4 billion commitment to carbon capture technology, with another £21.7 billion earmarked over the next 25 years.
In a major push for its ambitious climate targets, the UK government has confirmed a £200 million injection into the Acorn carbon capture and storage (CCS) project located in St Fergus, Scotland. This substantial financial backing, detailed on Thursday following a spending review, underscores the government's belief in CCS technology as vital for decarbonizing energy-intensive industrial sectors and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
The Acorn project, spearheaded by a consortium including Storegga, Shell UK, Harbour Energy, and North Sea Midstream Partners, aims to capture carbon dioxide emissions from various industries and permanently store them deep beneath the North Sea.
In addition to the Acorn project, the government also pledged support for the Viking CCS project in the Humber region of northern England. While the specific funding amount for Viking was not disclosed, Energy Minister Ed Miliband emphasized the broader impact of these investments. "This [funding] will support industrial renewal in Scotland and the Humber with thousands of highly-skilled jobs at good wages to build Britain’s clean energy future," Miliband stated in a release from Britain's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. He added that the government is "putting its money where its mouth is" and expects these projects to create significant employment opportunities, with Acorn alone anticipated to support around 15,000 jobs during its peak construction phase, and Viking contributing an estimated 20,000 jobs.
Once operational, the combined efforts of the Acorn and Viking projects are projected to capture up to 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, making a substantial contribution to the UK's emissions reduction goals. This funding is a component of a larger financial commitment by the UK government, which has pledged £9.4 billion to carbon capture technology during the current spending review period and an impressive £21.7 billion over the next 25 years. This long-term investment signals a clear and consistent strategy by the British government to develop a robust and self-sustaining CCS market from 2035 onwards, building on initial market creation efforts in the 2020s.
The development of these CCS clusters is seen as pivotal for the UK's industrial heartlands, offering a pathway to cleaner energy production and economic revitalization. As the nation strives to meet its legally binding net-zero targets, projects like Acorn and Viking are set to play a central role in transforming the UK's energy landscape, ensuring both environmental sustainability and sustained economic growth.
