Scientists call on UK government to delay Track 1 CCUS projects

A group of leading climate scientists have called on the UK government to pause its £1 billion investment plans for carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) over concerns that the technology is unproven.

In a letter to energy security and net zero secretary, Ed Miliband, the scientists said the government should pause investment decisions for several CCUS-based blue hydrogen and gas power projects in the Track 1 programme until all evidence around the whole-life emissions and safety of the technology has been properly evaluated.

These projects include the Net Zero Teesside Power, bpH2Teesside and Teesside Hydrogen CO2 Capture in the East Coast Cluster, and HyNet Hydrogen Production Plant 1 in the HyNet Cluster in Liverpool Bay, which all have final investment decisions expected this month.

The letter pointed to a recent report that warned that the H2 Teesside blue hydrogen project could have lifetime’s emissions of 15m-25m tonnes of CO2e, above the 10m tonnes reported by the developer in its environmental statement for planning.

The scientists warned that the UK’s current CCUS policy risks “locking the UK into using fossil fuel based energy generation to well past 2050”.

They urged the secretary to “ensure that these important decisions are based on accurate information about technologies’ climate impact and whether they will actually help or hinder the UK reaching net zero”.

“Carbon capture projects have a consistent track record of over-promising and under-delivering,” the letter added. “Just two commercial-scale coal-fired power plants are operating with CCUS: Boundary Dam in Canada and Petra Nova in the US. Both have experienced consistent underperformance, recurring technical issues and ballooning costs.”

The UK has ambitions to become a world leader in CCUS technology, aiming to establish at least four low-carbon industrial clusters by 2030 following a four-year development programme.

In addition to the Track 1 projects, the UK also has the Acorn CCS, Viking CCS, and the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) in development.

The projects are seen as critical to the UK’s net zero targets. The National Audit Office (NAO) has estimated that the UK government has so far spent £630m on its CCUS programme.

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