Big step towards zero-carbon cement

Heidelberg Materials UK welcome Government’s commitment to carbon capture and storage clusters

THE Government has today announced £22 billion of funding over 25 years to support the first two ‘clusters’ of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, in Teesside and Merseyside, to be given in subsidies from 2028.

Heralding a new era for the clean energy industry in the week that Britain became the first industrialized nation to end its 150-year usage of coal, the UK will be among the first to deploy this game-changing technology at scale – capturing CO₂ emissions before they reach the atmosphere and storing them away safely.

The projects in Teesside and Merseyside will create thousands of jobs, attract £8 billion of private investment, and accelerate the UK towards net zero in 2050.

Heidelberg Materials UK have welcomed the Government’s announcement to drive ahead with investment in the clusters, including the HyNet North West decarbonization cluster – which takes in the company’s Padeswood carbon capture and storage project, near Mold, in North Wales. 

‘The Government’s announcement to drive ahead with investment in carbon capture and storage clusters is a major milestone in the decarbonization of UK industry and sets the construction sector on the path to net zero,’ said Simon Willis, chief executive officer of Heidelberg Materials UK.

‘The Government’s backing of this critical technology highlights that it is supportive of UK industry’s transition to a low-carbon future and means that the production of zero-carbon cement before the end of this decade takes a big step forward.

‘The Government’s commitment also provides assurance that it is supportive of UK industry’s transition to a low-carbon future – where the building materials we rely on to construct and maintain our homes, schools and hospitals, and major infrastructure continue to be produced here. It will also secure and create highly skilled jobs for the future.’

Heidelberg Materials have recently submitted proposals to build a carbon capture plant adjacent to their Padeswood works to capture up to 800,000 tonnes of CO₂ produced per year during cement manufacture. The carbon captured at Padeswood would be transported via the HyNet underground pipeline and stored safely in empty gas fields under the seabed in Liverpool Bay.

If approved by Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW), the plant would be only the facility of its kind in the UK providing net-zero building materials for major projects across the country.

‘Our proposed carbon capture plant at Padeswood would capture up to 800,000 tonnes of the CO₂ produced per year during cement manufacture and enable the production of evoZero carbon-captured net-zero cement from the site as early as 2028,’ added Mr Willis.