Alongside money from the National Wealth Fund, the scheme will receive £31million in private investment.
The introduction of carbon capture and storage cement and lime companies based in the Peak District will benefit both the firms themselves and the environment.
‘Workers in the North Sea and Britain’s manufacturing heartlands will drive forward the country’s industrial renewal, positioning them at the forefront of the UK’s clean energy transition,’ said Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
Currently, the area produces around 40% of the UK’s cement and lime, making this investment and essential step in decarbonising two of the hardest to reach sectors. Infrastructure will extract carbon emissions for storage under the Irish Sea, forming part of Spirit Energy’s Morecombe Net Zero project. Carbon capture is the only option available to the cement and lime industries due to a lack of suitable low carbon fuels to power production of their material products.
‘Through our partnership with the Peak Cluster, Spirit Energy’s MNZ carbon store will decarbonise 40% of this country’s cement production, safeguard thousands of traditional jobs and livelihoods, breathe new life into the North West’s industrial heartlands and help create new, highly-skilled jobs for this and for future generations,’ added Neil McCulloch, Spirit Energy CEO.
‘The NWF’s support demonstrates how industry and government can work together effectively to unlock the investment required to make the energy transition happen, and how the UK can show the rest of the world how to get it done,’ he continued.
Image: Eran Menashri / Unsplash
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