The UK government’s 2025 Spending Review has provided a boost to carbon capture and storage (CCUS) projects.
CCUS clusters "play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and clean power and secure thousands of good, skilled jobs in our industrial heartlands. The government is providing increased backing to UK CCUS by allocating £9.4 billion in capital budgets over the [spending review] period," the government said.
Announcing the funding, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Today I can announce support for the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire to support Scotland’s transition from oil and gas to low-carbon technology. We are also backing the Viking Project in Humberside.”
Ted Stedman, CEO of Storegga, the lead developer of the Acorn Project said: “We warmly welcome the government’s support for the Acorn project and the commitment to development funding that will enable the critical work needed to reach Final Investment Decision.”
Also welcoming the development, Olivia Powis, CEO of the Carbon Capture Storage Association (CCSA) added: “The CCSA welcomes this statement of support for CCUS in today’s Comprehensive Spending Review, with allocation of funding for the build out of HyNet and the East Coast Cluster, and development funding to progress the Acorn Project and Viking CCS. This is a clear step forward to progressing the next clusters in Scotland and Humber. CCUS is critical to decarbonising our industrial heartlands, supporting clean power and enabling low-carbon hydrogen.”
The government added that the funding would lead to the "unlocking of billions of private investment.” Both the Acorn and Viking projects will now move forward with the aim of reaching a final investment decision later in this Parliament.
Further reading on carbon capture and storage:
•Carbon capture and storage: Decarbonising Teesside
•Carbon capture and storage: This major CCS project just got the green light
•Carbon capture: Major bio-CCS project gets the go ahead
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