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The UK government announced on Dec. 20 its new vision to create a carbon capture market by 2035. The plan, called the CCUS Vision, outlines a competitive UK carbon capture, usage and storage market aimed at generating new jobs and supporting its net zero goal. It will see an unprecedented investment of £20 billion towards its implementation.
The vision aims to facilitate the goal of storing 20-30 million metric tons of CO2 every year by 2030 and support 50,000 jobs by the same year. It is expected to bolster the economy by £5 billion per year by 2050. The investment that follows the plan also hopes to position the UK a global leader in the sector.
Among the measures included in the CCUS Vision is the transition to a competitive allocation process for carbon capture projects starting in 2027 to accelerate the building of the UK’s CCUS sector.
The vision also aims to create conditions for projects that cannot transport CO2 by pipeline to enter the market from 2025 onwards, using other forms of transport such as ship, road and rail.
Additionally, to establish a working group led by industry to identify and adopt solutions to reduce the cost of capturing CO2.
Ruth Herbert, CEO of Carbon Capture and Storage Association, said, “We welcome the CCUS Vision published, setting out a long-term strategy for the UK’s CCUS industry to be able to store over 50 million tons a year by 2035 to support the decarbonization of domestic industries and take advantage of export opportunities.”
UK’s Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho said, “Thanks to the UK’s geology, skills and infrastructure, we are in a unique position to lead the way on carbon capture technologies… That is why we’re making one of the biggest funding commitments in Europe on carbon capture that will cut emissions from our atmosphere, while unlocking investment, creating tens of thousands of jobs and growing the UK economy.”
