Page 30 - Gi June/July 2019

third time lucky

WHAT THE REPORT SAYS that such an assessment should be
The committee recommends

conducted, and that the forthcoming
Comprehensive Spending Review
EXPERTS AND POLICYMAKERS agree in the 2030s is also unclear. “The should take full account of the
that carbon capture usage and storage government’s definition is so broad benefits, as well as the costs, of CCUS.
(CCUS) will be necessary to meet the it is meaningless,” states the report.
UK’s existing climate change targets at The committee recommends that the Business models and funding
least cost, and that the country could government provide ambition and The greatest barriers to the
not credibly adopt a ‘net zero’ target, clarity by adopting specific targets in development of CCUS in the UK are
in line with the aspirations of the Paris line with the Committee on Climate commercial, rather than technical,
agreement, without the technology. Change’s recommendations. according to the report.
The UK is considered to have one The committee said: “It is
of the most favourable environments Industrial opportunities inconceivable that CCUS will be
globally for CCUS, but the technology The UK’s expansive geological developed without government
has suffered from 15 years of storage resource and world-class oil support. Witnesses agreed CCUS
turbulent policy support, including and gas supply chains mean that it costs could be substantially lowered
the cancellation of two major has a unique opportunity to lead the by separating the business model
competitions at a late stage. No world in the development of a new for carbon capture at individual
commercial-scale plant has yet been CCUS industry. facilities from that for carbon
constructed in the UK. The report recommends that the transport and storage infrastructure.
government prioritise the development We recommend that the government
Ambitions and least cost decarbonisation of CCUS to benefit from growing separates the funding models for
The government has set an ambition international demand for low carbon these activities, and that BEIS
to “have the option to deploy CCUS products and services. It states: investigates the appropriateness of
at scale during the 2030s, subject to “We risk losing our early-mover the Regulated Asset Base model.”
costs coming down sufficiently”. advantage if the UK’s slow progress in
The Business, Energy and Industrial developing CCUS continues. CCUS can Clusters and competition
Strategy Committee has welcomed the impose significant costs on industrial CCUS could play a significant role
government’s initiatives to retain CCUS processes, and so will require in supporting productivity growth
as a potential tool to decarbonise the substantial policy support to enable its outside London and the South
economy, but the lack of specificity adoption. However a failure to develop East, adds the report, offering
in its ambitions does not indicate a it could force many heavy industries to a route to redress some of the
commitment commensurate with close in the coming decades, if the UK regional imbalance evident in the
the importance of this technology, sticks to its climate change targets.” government’s Industrial Strategy.
according to its report. In addition, it states the benefits Of the five clusters identified
CCUS stakeholders are optimistic of CCUS are thought to be poorly as well-suited to early CCUS
about the potential for cost understood across government deployment, four are in regions with
reductions, but expect these to arise departments, notably the Treasury. below-average productivity, and
largely through deployment itself, Furthermore, the exclusion of witnesses from all five consider CCUS
and a lack of clarity poses difficulties industrial CCUS from the scope of the to be critical to future operations.
for investors. National Infrastructure Assessment The government has set a target to
The committee has heard means the full potential of the commission the first CCUS facility by
widespread concern about the technology has not been assessed at the mid-2020s.
requirement for ‘sufficient’ the national level. The committee recommends that
reductions, given the technology is this ambition is raised to target the
already the cheapest – and in some THE CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE PROCESS development of first CCUS projects
cases only – decarbonisation option in at least three clusters by 2025, to
for many industries. minimise the risk of further delays
Energy Minister Claire Perry has to CCUS development in the event
provided a more nuanced view of that individual projects encounter
these challenges, stating that there obstacles, and to ensure that the
is no cost target on which support benefits for productivity accrue to
is contingent. The committee industries across the UK.
recommends that the government The report states: “The Minister told
revise the formal aims of its written us that the government expects to
policy in the light of her position and run a third competition to select the
prioritise the development of clear first CCUS project. We recommend
ambitions to kick-start CCUS. the government urgently consults
Rather than seeking unspecified on approaches to allocate funding
cost reductions, the government for CCUS industry clusters, to ensure
should aim to bring forward projects that the approach selected promotes
at least cost, said the report. collaboration and benefits CCUS
The scale of deployment targeted development across the UK.”

30

CCUSReport.indd 3 16/05/2019 14:40