Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 28 May to Question 53448 on Carbon Capture and Storage, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard against over-subsidisation of specific (a) projects and (b) technologies.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The CCUS Cluster Sequencing Process, which is the selection of the initial carbon dioxide transport & storage networks and projects, and the CCUS business models, under which individual awards for projects are made, have been developed to align with the UK subsidy control regime as per the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and are subject to mandatory referral to the Subsidy Advice Unit, part of the Competition Markets Authority. These business models support the development of transport and storage CO2 networks, as well as the deployment of CCUS in the power, industrial and hydrogen sectors.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps with (a) industry and (b) investors to help de-risk investment in green hydrogen (i) infrastructure and (ii) projects.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Hydrogen transport and storage (T&S) infrastructure will be critical to the development of the hydrogen economy and to meeting government’s net zero and climate budget goals.
To facilitate the development of this critical infrastructure, we are committed to designing new business models for hydrogen transport and storage by the end of 2025.
The Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM) incentivises investment in new low carbon hydrogen production and encourages users to switch to low carbon hydrogen by making it a price competitive decarbonisation option. HPBM support is being allocated through the Hydrogen Allocation Rounds (HARs) and the Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) Cluster Sequencing programme.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he is taking steps with the Secretary of State for Transport to ensure green energy projects have access to CO2 storage.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The recent final investment decisions with the East Coast Cluster and Liverpool Bay CCS are the first steps in unlocking necessary CO2 storage requirements needed to deliver our carbon budgets.
The Department continues to work with key regulatory and industry partners so that the capacity needed to store CO2 is accessible to green energy projects, such as cement decarbonisation or sustainable aviation fuels.
The Government also recognises that non-pipeline methods of CO2 transportation (for example, road, rail, barge and ship) will be required where it is not feasible to connect to a store via pipeline.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with their plans to develop carbon capture and storage projects.
Answered by Baroness Curran
The East Coast Cluster reached financial close in December 2024 and the HyNet Transport and Storage Network, operated by Liverpool Bay CCS, reached financial close in April 2025, with Government signing contracts with industry to get the first CCUS projects up and running. These two clusters will help remove up to 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year and are due to start operating from 2028.
Officials have continued to engage with Track-2 clusters to understand their plans. We recognise industry will be hoping for clarity on Track-2 - and future CCUS clusters – and further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Humber's Viking carbon capture project on levels of investment in the area.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
A strong UK CCUS sector will support well paid, highly-skilled jobs across the UK, with DESNZ analysis showing CCUS has the potential to generate £4-5 billion GVA per year and support up to 50,000 jobs in the 2030s across the CCUS industry as the sector matures. We recognise the potential of the Track-2 clusters, including Viking, to build on this momentum, and officials have continued to engage with Viking CCS to understand their plans and continue to review the potential impact of the project on local investments.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how his Department is ensuring the (a) transparency and (b) accountability of carbon capture projects funded by public money.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has developed a series of models to incentivise behaviour in line with our objectives and deliver value for money for consumers and taxpayers. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority provides oversight of the Programme, as a Government’s Major Projects Portfolio, through Gateway Reviews and reporting, and the programme has been subject to National Audit Office reviews and Public Accounts Committee hearings. Partner organisations, such as OFGEM, Low Carbon Contracts Company, and Central Grants and Loans have a key role in providing accountability through monitoring the performance of the Transport & Storage Companies and emitters. The contracts set out regulations according to which support can be withdrawn where key milestones are not met. The Full Business Cases and associated assessments will be published in due course.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the long-term (a) safety and (b) environmental impact of carbon capture facilities.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Carbon capture and the transport and storage of CO2 are safe technologies underpinned by strong regulatory frameworks to mitigate potential risks associated with those activities.
There are several regulators in the UK in place to protect human health and the environment, including: Environment Agency (EA) Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Natural Resources Wales and SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency)
Additionally, the storage permit, regulated by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), for a storage site will only be issued when the NSTA are confident that there will be no significant risk of leakage or of harm to the environment and human health from the CO2 storage.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential risks of carbon capture and storage facilities.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Carbon capture and the transport and storage of CO2 are safe technologies underpinned by strong regulatory frameworks to mitigate potential risks associated with those activities.
There are several regulators in the UK in place to protect human health and the environment, including: Environment Agency (EA) Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Natural Resources Wales and SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency)
Additionally, the storage permit, regulated by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), for a storage site will only be issued when the NSTA are confident that there will be no significant risk of leakage or of harm to the environment and human health from the CO2 storage.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that carbon capture and storage does not disproportionately impact energy bills for consumers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the costs of the UK’s transition to Net Zero are fair and affordable for all energy consumers.
The CCUS programme will be funded through a mixture of levy and government funding. We have created several business models to fund CCUS projects based on the technology they are using, designed to support this nascent industry whilst ensuring value for money.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his planned timeline is for the carbon capture sites in Merseyside and Teesside.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Having reached financial close with East Coast Cluster in December 2024, and with the HyNet Transport and Storage Company, operated by Liverpool Bay CCS, in April 2025, construction is already underway, and we expect the Transport & Storage Companies to be operational from 2028. We continue to negotiate with other Track-1 projects and hope to conclude these negotiations as soon as possible subject to several assessments, including value for money.