Carbon capture and storage: a UK first at a cement plant
We are part of the HyNet North West consortium, which aims to create the world’s first low carbon industrial cluster.
The hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) project will play a critical role in the UK’s transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and the fight against climate change.
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.
The project has received backing under the government’s cluster sequencing process, giving us the confidence to invest in a carbon capture plant at Padeswood, which will connect to the planned HyNet CO2 transport and storage system. We are already carrying out a CCS feasibility study at the site, which will provide a clear design basis and cost estimate for the next stage.
The whole project will reduce regional CO2 emissions by up to 10 million tonnes every year by 2030: the equivalent of taking four million cars off the road. This figure includes up to 800,000 tonnes from our Padeswood plant and, if successful, could mean that we will be able to produce net zero carbon cement from the plant as early as 2027, which would represent a huge leap forward in our decarbonisation plans.
The HyNet North West project also includes production, storage and distribution of low carbon hydrogen, which will help to decarbonise other industries whose CO2 emissions primarily come from fossil fuels. The project, led by Progressive Energy, is being developed by a consortium of regionally located partners including Cadent, CF Fertilisers, Eni UK, Essar, INOVYN and the University of Chester as well as Heidelberg Materials UK.
