Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS)

Image credit: Energy Innovation Centre, University of Sheffield.

CCUS industrial clusters are unlocking markets across plant equipment, CO₂ transport solutions, engineering, packaged carbon capture and storage (CCS), and negative emissions.

Among the first contracts signed with the government to kickstart the CCUS industry were those with Northern Endurance Partnership and Liverpool Bay CCS to deliver the CO₂ transport and storage networks; with industrial partners Heidelberg Materials' Padeswood and Encyclis's Protos to decarbonise their facilities (cement and residual waste management respectively); and with Net Zero Teesside to generate low-carbon power in support of our clean power mission. The industrial clusters will also serve as launch points for exporting UK technology and expertise abroad.

CCUS can be used in a variety of ways. Industrial CCUS is used for the deep decarbonisation of industries like cement and chemicals, which have no alternative to decarbonise. Through CCUS, flexible low-carbon power can also be produced, which will displace the use of unabated gas when renewable energy sources like solar and wind are not available.

The UK government has developed a series of bespoke business models to support CCUS's economic viability and incentivise its deployment in a range of sectors. The business models are designed to address the risks that currently present a barrier to CCUS projects, incentivise project behaviour in line with government objectives and deliver value for money for consumers and taxpayers.

These business models are among the first globally to successfully attract project finance, meaning structured, bank-led financing where lenders rely on the project’s future cash flows rather than the sponsor’s balance sheet. They offer long-term contracts and public revenue support, making them bankable and familiar to infrastructure investors.

Greenhouse gas removal

Greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technologies will be important for reaching net zero – balancing residual emissions from hard-to-decarbonise sectors while providing new economic opportunities.

The UK is well-positioned to be a global leader in GGR technologies with our world-class research institutions, engineering expertise and access to geological storage.

In August 2025, the government published the Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR): Business Model. This is a central pillar of the strategy to kickstart the engineered GGRs industry in the UK, boosting the Accelerating to Net Zero, as well as creating new jobs and investment opportunities.

The government supports action to unlock high-integrity voluntary carbon markets that mobilise genuine additional finance to help reduce emissions sooner in the race to meet the 1.5 degrees pathway goal.

The UK ETS Authority considers the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to be an appropriate long-term market for GGRs, and intends to include engineered GGRs in the UK ETS subject to further consultation, the development of a robust standard and methodologies, and the management of wider impacts.

Supply chain

CCUS and GGRs are a priority area in the UK's Industrial Strategy, reflected in the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan. The UK has supply chain investment opportunities in multiple areas including high-value technical design, modular carbon capture and direct air capture packages, industrial heat exchangers, pressure vessels and CO₂ stripper columns.