Throughout the general election , Labour made their support for the Carbon Capture and Storage industry very clear within their manifesto. One of the ways they portrayed this, was through promising an additional £1bn under their National Wealth Fund.

The dedication and investment into this industry, is imperative right now, as the CCUS industry is almost at the point where it could soon be deploying projects throughout the UK’s industrial heartlands at scale. If the deployment of these projects is approved and accelerated, they could mean £30bn in investments are secured for the private sector by 2030. This could result in a total of 70,000 new jobs being created and a further 77,000 existing jobs within the carbon-intensive industries sectors being protected.

One of the reasons behind this keen investment, is that in order for the UK to remain a global leader when it comes to CCUS, which is vital technology, a lot of momentum needs to remain behind the CCUS Cluster Sequencing Programme.

The most pressing concern at the moment, is that the first two CCUs clusters need to be delivered within the coming weeks and this means that important key decisions need to be made quickly. This has led to the carbon capture industry, becoming very interested in starting work with the new Government.

The Carbon Capture & Storage Association said it, ‘looks forward to working with the new Government to build the UK’s first CCUS clusters. Labour has committed to accelerate carbon capture to decarbonise British industry and deliver low carbon infrastructure projects.’

Chief Executive of the Carbon Capture & Storage Association, Ruth Herbert, commented, “The CCSA looks forward to working with Keir Starmer’s government to put the UK at the forefront of the green Industrial Revolution. We have the opportunity to manufacture low carbon cement and glass here in the UK, rather than import it from elsewhere."

Herbert continued, "Carbon Capture and Storage clusters in the UK have the potential to attract around £30bn of private capital to industrial regions by 2030, boosting local economies whilst our industry decarbonises. The first step is final investment decisions on the first two clusters in the north of England – the negotiations have almost concluded and now Ministerial sign off is required – providing the perfect opportunity to follow through on manifesto commitments on industrial decarbonisation and clean power within the first few weeks of this government.”