A group of industrial companies with cement and lime sites in the UK counties Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Cheshire have joined forces to together cut their emissions by introducing new carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure in what has been called the Peak Cluster.
The project aims to bring down UK’s and lime manufacturing emissions by 40%, or about three million metric tons of CO2 annually.
Tamarmac, Breedon, Lhoist, and Aggregate Industries, as well as the Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant in Cheshire, are all part of the initiative.
The Peak Cluster plans to capture and transport CO2 emissions from industrial sites in the Peak District and Staffordshire moorlands and then permanently store the carbon beneath the eastern Irish Sea.
The scheme is led by Progressive Energy, which is the clean energy company behind the HyNet cluster that aims to decarbonize industrial plants in the Northwest of England.
“The project will help the industry to continue to thrive into the future – safeguarding jobs, maintaining a booming supply chain, and allowing current and future generations to continue to work in, and enjoy, this beautiful region,” said John Egan, project director of the Peak Cluster.
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Eni’s Liverpool Bay depleted gas field and a Morecambe Net Zero site by Spirit Energy are both considered to be CO2 storage locations for the scheme.
According to Progressive Energy, approximately 40% of all UK cement and lime is manufactured in the Peak District and nearby areas.
The UK government will soon pick the industrial clusters it will support in the second round of its industrial decarbonization program. The East Coast Cluster and HyNet schemes were among the selected priority projects in 2022. The country’s Treasury said earlier this year it would provide at least £20 billion ($24.88 billion) to CCS projects in the upcoming two decades.
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