Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of carbon capture, utilisation and storage on safeguarding domestic foundation industries, including cement and lime, while meeting the UK’s carbon budgets.

The emissions of some foundational industries, such as refining and cement and lime, are mainly from processes that cannot be reduced by fuel switching. The CCC have said that CCS would be responsible for 62%% of emissions reductions in the cement and lime sectors by 2050.

We have signed a contract with the UK’s first carbon capture-enabled cement plant at Padeswood, which located in the HyNet carbon capture cluster, to receive support under the ICC business model. This will forge a cleaner future with secure, long-term jobs for workers and businesses in the cement industry.

The Peak Cluster project plans to deploy CCS to decarbonise cement and lime sites in the Peak District. This could decarbonise 35% of the UK’s cement and lime emissions, as well as create and protect 3,500 jobs.