UK backs pair of carbon capture and storage projects with £9.4Bn in funding

Two carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the UK are set to see billions in funding following a government spending review. 

The funding is expected to allow both projects to progress towards final investment decision (FID) status, according to those involved.

"Funding will be invested this parliament to get spades in the ground and accelerate Britain’s global leadership in the technology of the future," the UK government said. 

The projects on the receiving end of the government funding package are Acorn project in Aberdeenshire, Scotland and the Viking project in the Humber area of northeast England.

The government said it is backing the projects with development funding.

"Today the government is meeting in full the request for development funding of around £200M (US$272M), subject to business case, to prepare the Acorn project for delivery – the first time a government has provided funding of this scale for the projects to proceed," the UK government said.

No specific amount of funding was listed for the Viking project, apart from the total £9.4Bn in spending commitment for "UK carbon capture industries".

According to the government, funding will provide financing for the National Gas SCO₂T Connect project, to repurpose an existing 282 km gas pipeline, alongside 56 km of newbuild pipeline, to allow CO2 captured at Grangemouth to be transported to storage facilities under the North Sea.

"Industry expects, at their peak construction, Acorn to support approximately 15,000 jobs and Viking to support 20,000 jobs, including 1,000 apprenticeships," the government said.

"We warmly welcome the UK government’s support for the Acorn project and the commitment to development funding that will enable the critical work needed to reach Final Investment Decision," Storegga CEO Tim Stedman said. Soregga is the lead developer of the Acord project.

Acorn has said its project will safeguard around 18,000 jobs in the North Sea that would otherwise have been lost, including jobs at Grangemouth.  

These jobs will be needed to build pipelines to transport CO2 safely and generate low-carbon power to homes and businesses so the British people can have energy security, lower bills and protection from the climate crisis. 

Once Acorn and Viking are operational, combined, they could remove up to 18 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere per year. As well as capturing emissions, carbon capture can also be used to generate low-carbon power, as well as enabling hydrogen power -  with the industry expected to support up to 50,000 jobs in the 2030s.