IET responds to £22bn Government pledge for carbon capture projects

The Institution of Engineering and Technology is pleased to hear that the Government are investing £22bn into Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). Not only is CCS going to be a vital tool in hitting the UK’s Net Zero targets, but it will also provide highly skilled engineering jobs across the country, so that every region feels the economic benefits of the energy transition.

The UK has the potential to take a lead in CCS building an industry that utilises our engineering expertise. This investment is a step in the right direction but must be met with a holistic approach that delivers the skills needed to grow the CCS sector.

CCS should be seen as supporting the transition to Net Zero until alternatives can be found to address the hard to decarbonise sectors. There have been concerns raised over methane leakage but the UK along with Norway (where most of our gas imports come from) is well advanced in reducing this to very low levels.

Growing the UK’s CCS capacity will further embolden this, but we must ensure that enduring imports from other areas meet comparable levels.

Dr Robert Sansom, a member of the IET’s Sustainability and Net Zero Policy Centre said: “Gas fired power plants provide flexibility, resilience and energy security but are a major source of greenhouse gases.  The installation of carbon capture and storage substantially reduces their carbon emissions. 

We are not going to be able to stop using fossil fuels overnight, so it’s important that the UK has a fossil fuel strategy on how we manage their use going forward and which supports the transition to Net Zero. CCS has other potential applications as well.  For example, in the production of hydrogen. 

Additionally, at present there remains “hard to decarbonise sectors” of the UK’s economy which will mean negative emission technology such as Bio Energy with CCS (BECCS) and Direct Air CCS (DACCS) will need to be developed.”