4 October 2024 – The Northern Endurance Partnership warmly welcomes Government confirmation of funding to support the launch of the UK’s first two carbon capture clusters including the East Coast Cluster.
The full Government announcement can be read here.
The announcement – a major boost for economic growth and the environment – came as Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband are visiting the Northwest to confirm funding for two sites in Teesside and Merseyside.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “We’re reigniting our industrial heartlands by investing in the industry of the future. For the past 14 years, business has been second-guessing a dysfunctional government – which has set us back and caused an economic slump. Today’s announcement will give industry the certainty it needs – committing to 25 years of funding in this groundbreaking technology – to help deliver jobs, kickstart growth, and repair this country once and for all.”
Chris Daykin, General Manager, Northern Endurance Partnership, said: “Today’s announcement is a significant milestone in the development of CCUS infrastructure in the UK and the journey to Net Zero emissions by 2050. The Northern Endurance Partnership, as the CO2 transportation and storage infrastructure provider to the East Coast Cluster, has a crucial role to play in the decarbonisation of Teesside and the Humber – helping create and support thousands of jobs and helping to establish the regions as globally-competitive low carbon hubs for industry and innovation. Construction would commence once final investment decisions have been taken, financial close achieved and all statutory processes are complete.”
Northern Endurance Partnership shareholders bp, Equinor and TotalEnergies, also welcomed the announcement.
Louise Kingham, SVP Europe and head of country, UK for bp said: “This announcement represents another step forward for the Northern Endurance Partnership and East Coast Cluster. Major projects like these have the potential to help stimulate economic growth – supporting thousands of jobs, helping UK companies prosper through the vast supply chains involved and creating the infrastructure to help major industrial companies with their decarbonisation plans. Collaboration is key in helping to progress and deliver the energy transition in the UK, and we look forward to continuing to work alongside the government and our partners to move these innovative projects forward.”
Alex Grant, SVP and head of country, UK for Equinor said: “We welcome this major milestone in progressing these 2 key projects and applaud the hard work and collaboration that has led us here. Equinor has been an energy partner with the UK for over 45 years and today’s announcement is a step for both Equinor and the UK to progress our energy partnership further. This will help decarbonise the country’s industrial heartlands and achieve its net zero ambitions whilst providing jobs and value creation. The UK will continue to be a key market for Equinor, building on our history of significant energy provision along its East Coast, which is transitioning from traditional oil and gas demand to renewables and low carbon options like CCS and hydrogen.”
Etienne Anglès d’Auriac, CCS Vice-President for NEP shareholder TotalEnergies said: “This confirmation of funding is warmly welcome as many UK decarbonizing projects are progressing at pace towards their final investment decisions. TotalEnergies is proud to be part of NEP, a frontrunner CCS project in the UK to sustain the decarbonization of an entire industrial region, a prerequisite for many players to remain competitive and sustainable in the current fight against climate change. We are eager to offer such a service to the British industry.”
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