Construction begins on North Wales carbon capture project
The announcement of financial close for Eni's Liverpool Bay Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project was made on Thursday (April 24) by UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, at the Summit on the Future of Energy Security.
Construction of HyNet will now begin, putting spades in the ground and putting the region on track for operations to begin in 2028.
The Liverpool Bay CCS project consists of a network of new and repurposed pipelines which will safely transport carbon dioxide (CO₂) produced at industrial plants to the Point of Ayr terminal at Talacre where it will then be stored offshore in depleted gas reservoirs owned by Italian company, Eni.
The Point of Ayr gas terminal (Image: Newsquest) Initial plants to be connected to the CCS system include Encyclis's Protos Energy Recovery Facility near Ellesmere Port, Heidelberg Cement's Padeswood plant, Viridor's Runcorn Energy Recovery Facility and EET Hydrogen's Hydrogen Production Plant (HPP) located at Stanlow, near Ellesmere Port.
The Liverpool Bay CCS project will generate over 2,000 jobs during its initial construction phase, while also safeguarding and creating thousands more through investment across the region. Crucially, the majority of the £2billion supply chain contracts are being awarded locally, ensuring the benefits are felt close to home.
(Image: Hynet North West)
With a storage capacity of 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year in the first phase, and the potential to increase to 10 million tonnes of CO2 per year in the 2030s, it will make a significant contribution towards achieving the UK's CCS ambitions. Construction of the project is expected to commence this year, ready for planned start-up in 2028, in line with industrial emitters in the HyNet Cluster.
The UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, said: 'Today we keep our promise to launch a whole new clean energy industry for our country - carbon capture and storage - to deliver thousands of highly skilled jobs and revitalise our industrial communities.
'This investment from our partnership with Eni is government working together with industry to kickstart growth and back engineers, welders and electricians through our mission to become a clean energy superpower. We are making the UK energy secure so we can protect families and businesses and drive jobs through our Plan for Change.'
David Parkin, chair of the HyNet Alliance said: 'HyNet positions North West England and North Wales as global leaders in low-carbon growth, attracting investment, boosting skills, creating and protecting jobs.
'We are delighted that Eni has reached financial close for HyNet's carbon capture and storage network—an important milestone in turning the wider HyNet vision into reality. This progress strengthens the region's industrial future whilst building a cleaner, stronger future for our communities.'
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