UKCCSRC - Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) Spring 2025 Conference Archives

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Neil Robinson (Queen’s University Belfast) shares his takeaways from the “Plenary 2 and Closing Keynote” session at the UKCCSRC Spring 2025 Conference.

The final session of the UKCCS Research Community Spring Conference asked “What’s next for CCS in the UK?”. The session featured three Plenary speakers, and concluded with a Keynote.

The first speaker was Mark Sommerfeld from CCSA (Carbon Capture and Storage Association), which works as the UK trade association for the commercial deployment of CCUS. Mark’s talk asked where would the industry like to see things moving?

Setting the scene, Mark began by highlighting key movements and developments for CCS in the UK since the recent change of government, including a £21.7 billion funding commitment announced in October 2024, and launch of the Clean Power 2030 Plan. He further highlighted the recently released CCC (Climate Change Committee) Seventh Carbon Budget, quoting the clear statement by CCC that they “cannot see a route to Net Zero that does not include CCS”.

Key next steps centred around a comprehensive spending review to establish the funding envelope needed for widespread, long-term deployment, with the conclusion that the current government should commit £4.2 billion per year as average annual support. Direct impacts predicted from this investment included unlocking £26 billion in private investment by 2030 and the creation of 50,000+ UK jobs by 2050.

Discussions on wider enabling markets and cost reductions followed, with the overall recommendation of accelerating learning rates, delivering economies of scale, growing supply chains and promoting industry collaboration to establish value for money across the UK CCUS sector. The Government was further urged to provide long-term certainty by confirming its approach to funding allocations and accelerating delivery of comprehensive carbon markets.

The second speaker was Tony McCann from SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency). Tony provided background on the organisation’s regulatory landscape, highlighting that SEPA currently regulates only carbon capture linked to geologic storage, and not its utilisation – this reveals a clear regulatory gap. Tony discussed an amendment to the current regulations aiming to bridge this gap by expanding the definition of capon capture activities to any activity carried on in a technical unit for the capture of carbon dioxide for the purposes of utilisation and storage.

A comparison followed demonstrating the different proposed authorisation levels for the updated regulations, with a discussion on the key differences between the requirements for chemical or physical carbon dioxide capture, and the role SEPA will play in granting permits and registrations.

The third speaker was John Gordon from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. John gave an overview of the Department’s support for CCUS innovation, including the funding of projects to transform carbon dioxide into value added products, and to de-risk carbon capture technology.

John discussed the Department’s aim of advancing the technology readiness levels of CCS projects with the aid of the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, including the £20 million CCUS Innovation 2.0 Programme which has funded 19 projects to reduce costs, develop intellectual property, share knowledge, and build skills and capacity across carbon capture, transport, recycling and geological storage. He also discussed support for emerging technologies to capture or use carbon dioxide, including research featuring metal organic frameworks, fertilisers and surfactants.

John concluded by discussing the Department’s vision for UK CCUS looking forward towards 2050, and highlighted the importance of targeting reduced costs, stimulating private sector investment, sharing knowledge, and maintaining the UK’s position as a leader in driving climate action.

The Closing Keynote was provided by Jamie Tarlton from the Climate Change Committee, who provided an overview of the Seventh Carbon Budget. The UK’s carbon budgets set limits on greenhouse gas emissions over set periods, with the seventh budget covering 2038 to 2042. The talk covered sources and required reductions in emissions needed to achieve this budget, and highlighted the clear role of CCS in decarbonising the chemical sector, cements, hydrogen supply, and electricity supply.

Zongqiang Ren (Cardiff University), Yao Fu (Cardiff University) and Chigbo Waliezi (University of Manchester) share their takeaways from the “Parallel 2b – CO2 Storage” session at the UKCCSRC Spring 2025 Conference.

At the recent UKCCSRC conference, the session titled CO₂Storage provided insightful discussions on this topic. Featuring talks by Yihuai Zhang (University of Glasgow), Kate Dobson (University of Strathclyde) and Aaron Cahill (Heriot-Watt University), chaired by Stuart Haszeldine (UKCCSRC & University of Edinburgh), the session provided the latest advancements in CO₂ storage technologies, images facilities and strategies.

Yihuai Zhang started the session presenting on ‘The dynamic effect in CO₂ storage’. Understanding the pore-network model (PNM) of swelling effects and fracture permeability in CO2-shale interactions, the temporal dynamics of reactive CO2 and trapping in carbonated rock, and non-linear Darcy flow in CO₂-brine dynamics are crucial for advancing technologies in carbon storage.

Key points:

The swelling is dominant over all gas injection pressures in lower confining pressure.
The aperture size distributions considering stress change are more heterogeneous, and the average reduction in aperture size in low-density fractured samples is approximately double that of high-density fractured samples.
Channeling effects and resulting pore-structure changes significantly influence permeability and capillary trapping dynamics.
PNM simulation showed that the capillary pressure and trapping efficiency have a complex interplay between dissolution, fluid dynamics, and pore network topology, and the CO₂residual trapping capacity could largely decrease after formation damage.

Kate Dobson started the session with the topic of ‘Image-based solutions for CCS storage challenges’.

Understanding the multi-scale experimental approaches and their role in predicting and controlling real-world behaviour is crucial for advancing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Her research highlights the importance of non-destructive imaging techniques to study multiphase flow, fracture propagation and material evolution in subsurface environments.

Key points:

Multi-scale experimental techniques provide insights across spatial (nm to km) and temporal (µs to millions of years) scales, bridging the gap between laboratory tests and real-world CCS storage conditions.
Material behavior in CCS systems involves complex interactions, including fracture mechanics, strain localization, precipitation and dissolution processes, which impact long-term CO₂ storage stability.
Ductile vs. brittle deformation mechanisms influence permeability and fluid migration, affecting storage efficiency and potential leakage risks.
Empirical validation through imaging is essential for improving simulation and predictive models, enabling better assessment of storage site integrity and long-term performance.
Multi-phase flow processes within fractured rock and porous media play a critical role in determining CO₂ trapping efficiency and capillary sealing behaviour.

Aaron Cahill started the session with the topic of ‘Legacy Wells and CCS: Managing Risks to Storage from Our Net Positive Past’. As carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects expand, understanding the impact of legacy wells on CO₂ storage security is crucial for long-term success.

Key points:

Legacy wells—Abandoned past oil and gas exploration wells pose potential leakage risks for CO₂ storage sites.
Effective monitoring and risk assessment strategies are essential to ensure the long-term integrity of CO₂ storage reservoirs.
Lessons from past energy activities can help develop best practices for securing CO₂ storage and mitigating potential risks.

Looking Ahead

While we look forward to exploring the potential contribution of legacy wells, integrating the application of image-based solutions, as highlighted in the works of Kate Dobson, takes us even a step further towards effective utilization. Furthermore, understanding the dynamic effect of CO₂ across a variety of reservoir types, including carbonate reservoirs, further supports the effective conversion of legacy wells and overall application of the CCS technology. Image-based solution tools can be deployed to address effective monitoring, risk assessment, and prediction through 4D imaging simulations.

Nicholas Landon (University of Nottingham), Janna Aljoubory (Brunel University of London) and Sylvanus Lilonfe (University of Nottingham) share their takeaways from the “Parallel 2a – CO2 Capture” session at the UKCCSRC Spring 2025 Conference.

While the UKCCSRC conferences allow researchers and industry from a wide variety of areas of carbon capture and storage (CCS) sector to come together and share knowledge, the central focus will always be the carbon capture aspect itself, without which there would be no need for advancements in materials, storage, policy, etc. As seen in the CO₂ Capture Parallel Session, the research currently conducted focuses on improving the technology’s performance and economics, both necessary fields to ensure CCS operates as effectively as possible.

Achieving high capture rate with amine post-combustion (STRETCHER)

The session’s opening speaker, Jon Gibbins, demonstrated this when discussing his research with optimising the energy requirement and capture rate of amine capture plants. Explaining the basic working principles of amine post-combustion capture systems led the way for examinations of how changes in the system’s operating conditions affect the reboiler duty, showing that at a particular lean loading of amine there will be an exponential increase in the energy requirement, which is the ‘inflection point’ at which the system should be operated at for optimum efficiency. Further projects investigating the temperature profiles in the desorber column to optimise its energy recovery and the solvent loading in the absorber column to maximise its capture efficiency.

A presentation by Jon Gibbins of University of Sheffield on achieving high capture rates for amine post-combustion at the UKCCSRC 2025 Spring Conference in Glasgow. Credit: Nicholas Landon

The overall positive messages from the research – that capture rates upwards of 95% are possible with low energy requirements from this process optimisation – were illustrated by the collaboration with Guangdong Carbon Capture Test Platform in China where the theory was put to the test, demonstrating that high capture efficiency was achievable under the operating conditions investigated. And just to ensure the presentation didn’t get too technical, Gibbins populated the discussion with anecdotes on having to halt the China system’s operation for mealtimes, and the history of Norway’s CCS journey and the ‘Soria Moria Declaration’, to keep everyone entertained.

Flexibly operated capture using solvent storage (FOCUSS)

A project collaboration between the University of Sheffield, AECOM, SSE Thermal and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, with an estimated budget of £670,000, demonstrated the cost-effectiveness and high CO₂ capture rates of flexibly operated capture using solvent storage across different plant operation regimes, including start-up, transient and shutdown regimes. According to Mathieu Lucquiaud, from the University of Sheffield, solvent storage tanks were designed to accommodate different flow regimes of an amine-incorporated power plant, which enabled capture rates of more than 97% CO₂. Additionally, the project examined the impacts of various regeneration pressures and temperatures on amine desorbers. Inflection points in solvent regeneration in the desorbers enable minimal energy use, even with a lower lean loading. However, attempting to achieve lean loadings below the desorber inflection point results in a rapid increase in specific reboiler duty.

A presentation by Mathieu Lucquiaud from the University of Sheffield on flexibly operated capture using solvent storage at the UKCCSRC 2025 Spring Conference in Glasgow. Credit: Sylvanus Lilonfe

Flexibly operated capture using solvent storage leads to high CO₂ capture rates of more than 97% at a small cost penalty. However, the use of rich solvent storage leads to an increase in solvent demand and inventory, up to 344%, but this could be reduced to a 25–49% increase using early and late steam from the power plant start-up and shutdown events. Early and late steam refers to steam produced during plant start-up and shutdown events and cannot be utilised in the steam turbines.

Dispatchable Power Agreement and CCS Business Models

The final speaker, Stephen Glenville, focused on the policies in place with regards to carbon capture. As a senior policy advisor in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), he has recently been involved in the design of the Dispatchable Power Agreement (DPA). As an introduction, various carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) business models were mentioned, those of which similar in approach to the DPA, such as the Transport and Storage Regulatory Investment Model used to mitigate and address risks through the development of Transport and Storage Networks. Also, the Industrial Carbon Capture Model designed to incentivise the deployment of carbon capture particularly in industries that have no other alternative when it comes to decarbonisation.

A presentation by Stephen Glenville of DESNZ on the Dispatchable Power Agreement at the UKCCSRC 2025 Spring Conference in Glasgow. Credit: Janna Aljoubory

There was a larger focus within the session on the use of DPA, especially in the context of natural gas-fired power stations adopting CCS. In short, the DPA supports stability within the grid by incentivising low carbon dispatchable power to help with achieving Net Zero and maintain energy security. Agreements are 15 years long and protection is provided within contracts in cases of uncertainty particularly from policy changes and political shifts. This mid-merit operating model, as Stephen mentioned, can be applied to new build construction as well as retrofitting existing plants, and aims to increase revenues through electricity generation and subsidies provided by the DPA – encouraging operators to sustain high capture rates whilst optimising their processes over time to maximise earnings from the policy.

Joshua Gray (Newcastle University), Aliyu Ibrahim Nagidi (University of Hull) and Shadab Alam (Teesside University) share their takeaways from the “Parallel 1b – CO2 Transport” session at the UKCCSRC Spring 2025 Conference.

The UKCCSRC conference brought together experts and industry leaders to discuss the latest developments in carbon capture and storage (CCS). One particularly insightful session focused on CO₂ transport, a critical aspect of the CCS value chain. The session featured presentations on biogenic CO₂ recovery (Raphael Pfaeltzer, The Carbon Removers), technoeconomic assessments for transport strategies in industrial clusters (Prof Sergey Martynov, UCL), and industry innovations in CO₂ compression and movement (Joseph Rainey, Howden).

Joshua Gray, Newcastle University

I particularly enjoyed the first talk given by the COO of The Carbon Removers highlighting the recovery of biogenic CO₂ in CCUS, particularly from industries like whisky production, biomethane processing and wastewater treatment. In the UK, biogenic CO₂ is being recovered, purified and sold to the food and beverage industry, where it’s being used for carbonation, packaging and also converted into dry ice, with one of the largest UK dry ice manufacturers relying on this source. Importantly, unlike fossil-derived CO₂, biogenic – i.e., derived from biological processes – makes it a more sustainable feedstock for carbon removal initiatives.

A key advantage of the process utilised by The Carbon Removers is its relatively low energy requirement. Unlike conventional CO₂ capture from industrial flue gases, these modular systems recover CO₂ in liquid or gaseous form without requiring significant heat input. These small-scale recovery units, typically handling 2-50 kilotons per annum, offer flexibility and can be transported via ISO-tanks on lorries for further distribution.

Aliyu Ibrahim Nagidi, University of Hull

CO₂ transport plays a key role in ensuring captured CO₂ is delivered to storage sites in a safe and cost-effective manner. The talk by Sergey Martynov focused on a study that examined different options for sustainable CO₂ transport within industrial clusters and I found this very interesting as it relates closely to my research area. A case study of the North Sea Port industrial cluster was presented from an environmental and techno-economic perspective taking into account liquefaction, compression, transport (shipping/pipeline) and storage. Liquefaction and compression contribute around 41% and 53% on average in terms of environmental impacts respectively. This is largely driven by energy requirements for these processes. The carbon intensity of the energy source plays a huge role and, as such, utilising renewables can significantly reduce the environmental impact of the process.

In comparison to shipping, CO₂ transport via pipelines is more cost effective especially when deployed within industrial clusters with access to shared infrastructure. Again, pipeline transport is dominated by operational costs driven by energy required for CO₂ liquefaction and compression. Although cost is an important factor, other considerations such as safety, public acceptance and operational risks are equally important in decision making when developing CO₂ transport infrastructure.

Joseph Rainey from Howden spoke about a range of solutions for CO₂ handling for various CCS options including point source carbon capture (PSCC), direct air capture (DAC), CO₂ separation, transport, utilisation and storage. I found the session very informative particularly in relation to direct air capture. Their portfolio of products meets different pressure requirements ranging from just under 1bar for PSCC to above supercritical pressure (73.8bars).

For DAC, rotary adsorption machines (RAM) and direct air capture fans that are highly efficient and can be scaled up for large scale CO₂ capture from ambient air. They also offer solutions which includes blowers, centrifugal, screw and reciprocating compressors for CO₂ separation and processing. Depending on the area of usage, the compressors are capable of handling varying volumes of flow at pressure of up to 300Mpa.

Dr Shadab Alam, Teesside University

Raphael Pfaeltzer from The Carbon Removers presented on capturing and monetizing biogenic CO₂, highlighting the economic advantage of targeting biogenic CO₂ sources, which naturally contain over 60% pure CO₂, compared to post-combustion capture (10-15%) or direct air capture (merely 0.04%). The presentation featured a compelling case study from Invergordon, Scotland, where they are capturing CO₂ from whisky distilleries. This captured CO₂ is transported via ISO tanks and supplied to various end-users, including food and beverage applications, dry ice manufacturing and partners who permanently carbonate CO₂ in building materials.

Professor Sergey Martynov from University College London presented research on techno-economic assessments for CO₂ transport strategies in industrial clusters. His presentation emphasized the need for large-scale CO₂ transport infrastructure to meet the goal of capturing 1 GT_CO2/annum. Prof. Martynov compared various transport modes, noting that pipelines offer continuous operation and large capacity but require high upfront investment; road transport provides flexibility with low capital costs but has limited capacity; railways offer cost-effectiveness where infrastructure exists; and ships provide route flexibility but are limited to waterway locations. Prof. Martynov concluded that CCUS clusters represent an effective approach to reducing investment risk and achieving economies of scale. Selecting optimal transport solutions requires balancing cost against geographical constraints, safety considerations, environmental impacts, societal acceptance and deployment speed.

Joseph Rainey from Howden showcased their specialized equipment designed for the full CCUS value chain. Joseph detailed how their product portfolio addresses specific needs at each stage of the carbon capture process: turbo blowers and centrifugal/axial fans for the initial capture phase, screw, and centrifugal compressors for intermediate CO₂ storage applications. Howden’s direct air capture fans were highlighted as a key technology supporting the growing DAC sector, demonstrating how established engineering firms are adapting their core competencies to meet the specific requirements of emerging climate technologies.

Key takeaways:

Biogenic CO₂ capture presents an efficient, low-energy method for recovering and reusing CO₂ in commercial applications.
Pipeline transport remains the most economical solution for large-scale CO₂movement, though alternative methods like barges offer flexibility.
Industry innovation in compression and modular transport is making CO₂ handling more scalable and accessible.

Attending this session shed light on the critical role CO₂ transport plays in achieving net-zero goals. As technologies evolve and infrastructure expands, ensuring that methods for CO₂ transport can be integrated within industrial clusters will be vital to the success of CCS initiatives in the UK. The insights from these talks reinforced the importance of collaboration between industry and academia in shaping the future of CCUS.

Aisha Ibrahim (University of Sheffield), Rose McCarthy (University of Leeds) and Jose Fabian (Newcastle University) share their takeaways from the “Parallel 1a – Policy, Regulation & People” session at the UKCCSRC Spring 2025 Conference.

Industrial decarbonisation plays a critical role in meeting the UK’s net-zero target by 2050, with carbon capture and storage (CCS) offering transformative opportunities to drive economic growth, create jobs and support local communities. Achieving this, however, requires government-backed investments in innovative CCS technologies and a focus on regional cluster strategies that foster low-carbon industrial hubs. The challenge lies in ensuring that the benefits of decarbonisation are distributed equitably, while building reciprocal relationships between industry, government and host communities. These themes formed the basis of “Parallel Session 1a – Policy, Regulation, and People”, chaired by Clair Gough (UKCCSRC & University of Manchester), featuring insightful presentations from Professors Karen Turner (University of Strathclyde) and Patrick Devine-Wright (University of Exeter).

Professor Karen Turner, Director of the Centre for Energy Policy at the University of Strathclyde, kicked off the session by presenting her research on the economic impact of an emerging CCUS industry in the UK, with a specific focus on the transport and storage sector surrounding the Track 1 and Track 2 industrial CCS clusters. She discussed how current and persisting labour markets within the UK may impact the economy-wide outcomes of deploying a CO₂ transport and storage sector.

Professor Turner shared projections that the expanding transport and storage sector could create around 17,000 full-time-equivalent jobs within the clusters and potentially boost gross domestic product (GDP) by up to £1.8 million per annum. These estimates represent the best-case scenario, assuming there are no constraints in the labour market. However, a significant challenge for the UK’s CCUS industry, also highlighted during other talks in the conference, will be worker and skills shortages in this area.

In the next part of her talk, Professor Turner introduced the results from CGE simulations on the economy-wide impact of a new transport and storage industry. These simulations are a class of economic models that use real-world data to predict how an economy might respond to changes in policies, technology or other external factors. They take into account various scenarios, such as wage elasticity (the sensitivity of employment to a change in wage rates), and the effects of worker migration and displacement on economic parameters like GDP. See the photograph above for details on the different scenarios Professor Turner presented during her talk.

The key takeaway from Professor Turner’s modelling was that the development of a CO₂ transport and storage sector in the UK would likely lead to net job growth and increased GDP, but workforce planning will be crucial for ensuring the UK can maximise the economic benefits of this new industry. For the country to fully capitalise on the economic opportunity this new industry may bring, policy action is needed by the Government. They will need to introduce measures to ease labour supply and skills shortages, minimise job displacement (from workers leaving jobs elsewhere to access these new jobs in the CCUS industrial clusters) and reduce price pressures which may be caused by a developing transport and storage industry.

Professor Turner’s presentation offered a comprehensive overview of how a CO₂ transport and storage industry could impact the UK economy, with a particular focus on the labour market challenges facing the sector. If you’d like more information, you can find the published study here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140084.

Next, Professor Patrick Devine-Wright, from the University of Exeter, delivered a compelling presentation on the importance of place and just transitions in decarbonisation, emphasising how industrial projects like carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen deployment projects shape, and are shaped by, the communities they impact. He introduced the Advanced Capacity in Climate and Environmental Social Science (ACCESS) initiative, which seeks to make existing research on social acceptance, environmental justice and public engagement more accessible.

Professor Devine-Wright highlighted research from the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC) initiative, focusing on perceptions of decarbonisation in industrial clusters such as Milford Haven, Ellesmere Port and Grangemouth. The findings revealed contrasting views between stakeholders (government and industry) and host communities. While stakeholders saw industrial clusters as potential hubs for technological innovation and economic revitalisation, they often overlooked local identity, culture and community engagement. Conversely, residents expressed mixed feelings with pride in their industrial heritage but had concerns over pollution, poverty and declining public services. They emphasised the need for genuine engagement and transparency, voicing scepticism about top-down decarbonisation efforts that felt more like PR campaigns.

To bridge these gaps, Professor Devine-Wright presented two frameworks. The first, a Place-Sensitive Approach, offers guiding principles to help industry and government engage meaningfully with communities. Key recommendations include: building trust by recognising the knowledge and agency of local people, fostering reciprocal relationships where communities are active partners in the process, and addressing broader place-based concerns, such as poverty, public services and housing. The second framework, developed by a multi-university consortium, emphasises that deploying technologies like CCUS should be seen as part of an ongoing process of place-making, where local histories, identities and experiences are considered, drawing on principles of environmental justice.

Professor Devine-Wright concluded with a call for stakeholders to treat host communities as key partners in decarbonisation efforts. By fostering dialogue, rebuilding trust and ensuring tangible local benefits like jobs and infrastructure, decarbonisation can deliver long-lasting, equitable outcomes and create better places for the people who live and work there.

The Q&A session emphasised the importance of leadership in bridging gaps between communities and stakeholders, encouraging cluster leaders to integrate socio-economic research into practical strategies and employing academics to foster long-term, collaborative relationships with local communities. By reflecting on the historical evolution of industries and applying these lessons, stakeholders can guide future decarbonisation efforts more effectively.

Overall, after attending this Parallel 1a session, the message was clear that industrial decarbonisation is a key piece to achieving the Net Zero target by 2050, but to reach this ambitious goal, the UK government need to be part of the stimulation to invest in technologies, e.g. industrial carbon capture, the CO₂ and hydrogen transportation pipelines, offshore pipelines and subsea CO₂storage, providing a cost-effective decarbonised energy supply and storage opportunities to industry. The major progress to decarbonise the UK industry will be through different cluster plans which enable places to thrive in a low-carbon future turning them into an attractive place for industry to operate. As decarbonisation is represented as transformative to revive the industry, it’s important to build reciprocal relationships between industry, communities and government, adopting a place-sensitive lens and treating the host communities as key stakeholders. Carbon capture and storage also creates a valuable chain by linking companies or organisations which have not collaborated before, bringing different expertise and a more diverse network of stakeholders, driving economic development and growth.

Shadi Samizadeh (University of Lincoln), Mike Ownsworth (University of Sheffield) and Karim Elamawy (University of Sheffield) share their takeaways from the “Plenary 1” session at the UKCCSRC Spring 2025 Conference.

Ian Hunter – Teesside Net Zero Power – Building the Future of Carbon Capture: Lessons from the East Coast Cluster

The journey to a low-carbon future isn’t just about ambition—it’s about making the right decisions, navigating challenges and bringing together the right people. The East Coast Cluster (ECC) is a prime example of this. As one of the UK’s leading CCS projects, it’s paving the way for large-scale CO₂ reduction. But getting there has been a long, complex process.

At the heart of the ECC are two major projects: Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power) and the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP). Together, they aim to capture and store CO₂ emissions, helping the UK meet its net-zero targets.

NZT Power is a new-build power station designed to capture 95% of its emissions using an amine-based carbon capture system.

NEP is developing the Endurance Store, a massive saline aquifer in the North Sea, to permanently store CO₂.

With Teesside and the Humber as key industrial hubs, this project makes sense. There’s existing infrastructure, skilled workers, and a history of industrial development.

Challenges in Building CCS Infrastructure

Developing large-scale CCS isn’t just about technology—it’s also about strategy, investment and policy. Some of the key challenges include:

Balancing Costs and Efficiency: Deciding between aquifers and depleted gas stores, investing in pre-built pipeline capacity and ensuring the capture plant can ramp up with power demand.
Government Policies and Business Models: At the time of development, business models for CCS were still evolving. Companies had to take a leap of faith, investing heavily without a clear guarantee of government support.
Land and Regulatory Processes: Securing land, handling environmental regulations and getting Development Consent Orders (DCOs) took years. The process started in 2019 and was only approved in 2023.
Collaboration Across Multiple Stakeholders: With joint ventures, banks, contractors and government agencies all involved, aligning interests and decision-making was a challenge.

Lessons Learned

Strong Partnerships Matter
NZT Power and NEP are structured as joint ventures, with BP providing operator services. This helped pool resources, spread risks and ensure technical expertise was in place.
Early Planning for Land and Regulations is Crucial
From CO₂ pipelines to power station connections, securing land and regulatory approvals took longer than expected. Future projects need to streamline this process.
Competitive Contracting Drives Innovation
A competitive process for front-end engineering led to better cost efficiency and technical advancements, particularly in power and CO₂ capture flexibility.
Local Benefits Are Key
Beyond reducing emissions, these projects bring jobs, skills and investment to local communities. Working with schools, apprenticeships and regional businesses has been essential in gaining support.

What’s Next for CCS in the UK?

The UK has a long history of CCS projects, and the East Coast Cluster builds on that foundation. The government’s approach has evolved, aiming to create business models that attract investment while ensuring affordability.

Looking ahead, the challenge will be scaling up CCS quickly and efficiently. There’s a push for more competitive bidding, similar to offshore wind projects, but whether that will work for CCS remains to be seen. What’s clear is that the ECC has set a precedent, showing that with the right planning, partnerships and investment, large-scale CCS is possible.

This is just the beginning. With continued progress, the UK could become a global leader in CCS technology, helping industries transition to a low-carbon future while ensuring energy security and economic growth.

Jeremy Carey Exergetic Ltd and Chair of UKCCS Board

Jeremy presented a chronological retrospective story of carbon capture in the UK told in a series of memes. He quoted Douglas Adams’ three stages of life regarding the perception of inventions at the different stages of life (before birth, between 15 and 35 years old, and after the age of 35). These stages end with the statement that anything invented after someone is thirty-five is against the natural order of the world. He pointed out that almost all company directors are at that stage of their lives.

He related an anecdote about Lord Oxburgh saying that carbon capture is the only technology that can’t be lived without. The alternative to carbon capture is that everyone in the world should be persuaded to resist temptation and leave fossil fuels in the ground forever. He left a dramatic pause to let the audience consider whether this is likely to be successful.

Jeremy discussed the stage play, Kyoto, about the negotiations of the COP agreements. He then showed a chart of increasing annual greenhouse gas emissions with the COP summit marked (shown in the first figure above). He pointed out that there was no change in rate of growth at each of the COP summits, though the COVID pandemic could be seen and the ‘70s oil crisis and Jeremy didn’t mention it, but there was also a dip at the end of the first decade of this century when the banking crisis happened. So much for global agreements.

Moving to a different point, Jeremy quoted, “If a problem takes a million pounds to solve then this is probably OK. If it takes a billion pounds, then this is a longer conversation”.

Jeremy described a SSE/Shell partnership of approximately £1 billion. Shell considers risk differently to the way which has become normal. Shell considers risk on a chart set against an axis of control/influence. There is a line plotted on that chart which Jeremy called “the line of tolerable ambiguity”. There was a realisation that, as politicians change every four years, there are likely to be many politicians in office during a CCS project and so the partners had almost no influence to manage the risk. Large point-to-point capture and storage projects came to an end in the UK ( a “dead in the water” made the point). But . . . clusters were alive! With clusters came complexity and slowness.

At the end Jeremy mentioned the “Drill baby, drill” quote from a certain US politician and how it changes the landscape. He described how some US companies want to avoid being seen as pro net zero. Jeremy used an analogy of thermodynamics to financial sense. If something is thermodynamically possible, it will eventually happen. Otherwise not. If a project makes financial sense with only a sensible subsidy, it will eventually happen. Otherwise, the risk of the subsidy being reversed is too great.

At the end of his presentation, Jeremy took a question about whether CCS really abated existing emitters or only abated new emitters. His answer was that, in his view, flexible generation with CCS enables renewable and sustainable generation to be fully exploited. When renewables are unavailable, the flexible generation with CCS can be used but turned off when the wind blows and the sun shines. For this reason, CCS gives better than one-for-one abatement.

Billy Davies (Brunel University of London), Gregory Mwenketishi (University Of Bradford), Ikemefuna Collins Nwanze (University of Wolverhampton) and Hassan Chamas (Brunel University of London) share their takeaways from the “Welcomes & Opening Keynote” session at the UKCCSRC Spring 2025 Conference.

Fàilte gu Alba and what a warm welcome it was that the sun was shining on Glasgow (surprising we know)! On such a beautiful day of course the best thing to do is to talk all about carbon capture, utilisation, storage and, last but not least, the silent T (transportation).

First up was Prof Jon Gibbins, UKCCSRC Director, giving a warm welcome to the Conference being hosted by the University of Strathclyde. Then, to welcome us to the University of Strathclyde and the city of Glasgow was Prof Julia Race, Academic Vice Dean in the Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering Department. She gave an excellent welcome to Scotland, talking about the abundance of mountains and the abundance of her favourite courses (golf), as well as discussing Glasgow’s proud history especially within ship building on the River Clyde.

The University of Strathclyde has a rich and proud history in Glasgow, being founded in 1798 by John Anderson, which makes it the 8^th oldest higher education institution in the UK, and was extremely progressive for the time. The main reason for the development of this institution is that John Anderson wanted a “place of useful learning”, with that statement still playing a key role in the university’s vision today! The university has seven core research themes and one of these is the Centre for Energy Policy, in which there is a big focus on carbon capture, storage and transportation (CCST), including the development of new technologies alongside focusing on the economics and policy decisions around the development of CCST for industrial use.

Next up was Jeremy Carey, current chair of the UKCCSRC Board, introducing the future chair of the UKCCSRC board, Bryony Livesey. Bryony discussed their previous work as Director of the Industrial Decarbonisation Centre at UKRI. At the IDC £210 million in public funding was provided to develop an industrial decarbonisation strategy via the cluster plan, derisking projects, supporting development of interconnected infrastructure as well as money for innovation and research. This project has been very successful with over £900 million of co-investment from other partners currently and by 2030 up to £22 billion will have been invested into industrial decarbonisation, extremely positive signs considering previous history of industrial decarbonisation projects within the UK. By 2030, 14 million tonnes of CO₂ should be captured and stored, and 1.3 GW of low-carbon blue hydrogen production. The next steps for this are to ensure that the Track 1 projects have spades in the ground and by 2040 to have five net-zero industrial clusters. Furthermore, it’s to further support and advance cutting-edge research within industrial decarbonisation and development of knowledge sharing approaches across clusters so best practices can be learnt.

So, an excellent welcome to the country of Scotland, the city of Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde and to the UKCCSRC Spring Conference! This welcome was very much one of hope, despite past experiences of industrial decarbonisation not going ahead, and this current development of low-carbon industrial clusters is extremely exciting for ECRs like ourselves. With final investment decisions being made for the Northern Endurance Partnership and Net Zero Teesside Power, it is now a case of putting spades in the ground and building capture, storage and transportation facilities and networks to ensure that CO₂ can be captured and stored on large scales! Whenever at UKCCSRC conferences, a quote by Isaac Newton comes to mind, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. The work John, Julia, Jeremy and Bryony have done within their careers to ensure industrial decarbonisation becomes a reality is fantastic, and it is up to us ECRs to continue this legacy!

The UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Community (UKCCSRC) is supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Energy Programme.

UKCCSRC Spring 2025 Conference – Plenary 2 & Closing Keynote (ECR Meeting Fund)

Ian Hunter – Teesside Net Zero Power – Building the Future of Carbon Capture: Lessons from the East Coast Cluster

Jeremy Carey Exergetic Ltd and Chair of UKCCS Board