World’s largest decarbonising project - Peak Cluster - will create 3,500 jobs
A multi-million-pound deal to help decarbonise Britain’s cement and lime industry starting in the Peak District has been given the funding to go ahead and will create 3,500 jobs, says the government.
The flagship Peak Cluster project is the first step towards the development of a leading carbon capture pipeline between cement and lime companies in the Peak District which will store emissions deep below the Irish Sea – accelerating Britain’s transformation into a clean ‘energy superpower’.
£28.6 million has come from the National Wealth Fund investment for this major carbon capture project.
This has been backed by £31 million from private partners including Holcim, Tarmac, Breedon, SigmaRoc, Summit Energy Evolution and Progressive Energy together with the Morecambe Net Zero.
Jon Pearce, MP for High Peak, said: “The National Wealth Fund’s investment will support Peak Cluster to secure skilled jobs at the High Peak's key employers - the cement and lime industry, attract new investment and tackle a huge source of carbon dioxide emissions in the region.
“I’m proud to see the vision I’ve championed from the start now becoming a reality."
The pipeline will be created to transfer carbon dioxide from Derbyshire, Staffordshire and the North West to be stored in the depleted gas fields off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “We're modernising the cement and lime industry, delivering vital carbon capture infrastructure and creating jobs across Derbyshire, Staffordshire and the North West to put more money into working people’s pockets."
Cement and lime are two of the hardest industrial sectors to decarbonise due to the high levels of CO2 emissions generated in the manufacturing process which cannot be reduced through transitioning to low carbon fuels.
By investing alongside industry, supporting early development risk reduction and providing the critical financing for Peak Cluster the National Wealth Fund will remove some of the barriers for private investment to further develop and construct the project.
This will be the National Wealth Fund’s first investment in carbon capture since the Chancellor highlighted it as a priority in her new strategic direction for the Government’s principal investor back in March.
John Flint, CEO of the National Wealth Fund, said: “Our involvement demonstrates how we can use our risk capital to solve problems and manage investment uncertainty, amplifying government policy and ultimately removing the barriers for private investors to support this project.”
The Peak Cluster project will support more than 2,000 existing jobs in the cement and lime industry.
Around 300 new jobs will be created at manufacturing sites along with 1,200 temporary jobs created for the construction of the pipeline and capture facilities.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “This landmark investment will catalyse our carbon capture sector to deliver thousands of highly skilled jobs and growth across our industrial heartlands, as part of our Plan for Change.”
John Egan, CEO of Peak Cluster Ltd, added: “Together with MNZ, the UK’s biggest carbon store, we will capture, transport and store CO₂ to support industry to thrive in a low carbon future. “We will work closely with Government to ensure that Peak Cluster and MNZ together can help secure the future of this industry, creating a backbone of industrial opportunity that benefits communities across the Midlands and North West of England – for the UK and beyond.”