Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what criteria his Department used to allocate expenditure to projects through the Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage Infrastructure Fund.

The CIF will primarily be allocated through the Cluster Sequencing process to contribute to the capital costs of the T&S network and ICC projects. To maximise participation, diversity and resilience in the Cluster Sequencing process, the Government has also committed up to £40m of the CIF to support early-stage design work in industrial clusters via the existing Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge (IDC) Fund.

The eligibility and assessment criteria for Phase 1 and 2 of the Cluster Sequencing Process are published within the Phase 1 and Phase 2 guidance. Clusters and projects were assessed against several criteria including deliverability, emissions reduction potential, economic benefits, cost considerations, and learning and innovation.