The UK government has pledged to invest £20 billion ($24 billion) over the next 20 years in carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs.
The announcement comes in response to a report by the government’s climate advisers, which states that CCS technology is vital to meeting the country’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The Treasury department revealed that next week's budget would include a "clean energy reset" that will support projects capable of storing 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2030. This would equate to the emissions from around 10-15 million cars.
In 2020, Britain held its first licensing round to enable companies to store captured carbon emissions in the North Sea, attracting bids from oil companies such as BP and Equinor. According to the Treasury statement, the UK has enough carbon capture capacity to store over a century and half of national annual CO2 emissions, making it one of the world’s most attractive carbon capture markets.
The Treasury also announced that it will launch a competition for the UK’s first small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) and that the government’s "Great British Nuclear" body will select sites for potential projects, removing cost, uncertainty and bureaucratic barriers for manufacturers. As most of the country’s nuclear power stations are due to close by 2030, Britain aims to replace its ageing nuclear power plants, which generate approximately 13% of the country's electricity. The government hopes that the smaller, cheaper reactors will be more attractive to investors than the large-scale nuclear projects with their huge up-front costs.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that the government's plan would reduce energy bills while fulfilling government promises to grow the economy, and it would add to the security of supply. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reiterated this during talks in France, where the two countries agreed to collaborate on energy, including nuclear power. Rolls-Royce has already been awarded £210 million for its £500 million SMR programme, but the company informed Reuters last month that the cash for the SMR would run out by the end of 2024. Photo by Rob Farrow, Wikimedia commons.