Hanson one step closer to CCS as HyNet North West received government backing

HyNet North West is one of two industrial clusters to receive Track 1 backing under the government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) cluster sequencing process.

The announcement, made by Energy Minister Greg Hands, means the consortium is a step closer to achieving its ambition to create the world’s first low carbon industrial cluster through its development of a hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.

The region HyNet North West covers – which stretches from Flintshire and Wrexham, through Cheshire, Liverpool and Greater Manchester into Lancashire – has the largest concentration of advanced manufacturing and chemical production in the UK, including our Padeswood cement works, near Mold, Flintshire. 

The announcement will result in huge economic benefits to the region, safeguarding existing jobs and creating around 6,000 new employment opportunities. It also gives us the confidence to invest in a carbon capture plant at our Padeswood works, which will connect to the planned HyNet CO2 transport and storage system. The company is already carrying out a CCS feasibility study at the site, which will provide a clear design basis and cost estimate for the next stage.

CEO Simon Willis said: “This announcement is fantastic news for everyone involved in HyNet North West and we are excited to be the first UK cement manufacturer working on CCS in the UK as part of this collaborative project. Cutting CO2 emissions is a key priority for us, and we’ve already taken big steps in the right direction but CCS at cement plants is a key part of our pathway to reaching net zero by 2050.”

The UK government recognises the decarbonising of industrial clusters is an essential part of the journey to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as described in its 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. As a result, earlier this year, it launched a process to determine the sequence in which it would support this, with track 1 clusters (HyNet and East Coast Clusters) to begin decarbonising industry from 2025 and track 2 clusters from around 2030.

HyNet will reduce regional CO2 emissions by up to 10 million tonnes – including up to 800,000 tonnes from our Padeswood plant – every year by 2030; the equivalent of taking four million cars off the road. The project, led by Progressive Energy, is being developed by a consortium of regionally located partners including Cadent, CF Fertilisers, Eni UK, Essar, INOVYN (part of the INEOS Group) and the University of Chester as well as Hanson.