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Early last week Alex Cunningham MP called on the Government to fund and deliver vital carbon capture and storage infrastructure as promised to support Tees industries, below is a statement from our CEO, Philip Aldridge and the full release on the speech made in Parliament.

Statement from our CEO, Philip Aldridge: “I fully support the comments made by Alex Cunningham MP in Parliament last week. They echo the concerns of our members and it is essential that these important issues are at the forefront of the national agenda.  

“Collaboration between policymakers and industry experts remains crucial to achieve the best possible outcomes for our shared goals. Decarbonisation is a global topic and we must do what we can to progress this now whilst we still have the opportunity.”

“Uncertainty the killer of investment” warns Alex as he calls on the Government to fund and deliver vital carbon capture and storage infrastructure as promised to support Tees industries

Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham MP has accused the Government of “short changing” industries on Teesside and across the country after it emerged that vital carbon capture and storage infrastructure due to be built on Teesside has been significantly scaled down by officials.

Plans to build an on-shore CO2 collection pipe, which is needed to capture CO2 from industries will not now be built to the same extent as originally planned. Instead, new plans will see the pipeline miss out key Tees industries Kellas Midstream and CF Fertilisers nor will it link with the proposed Alfanar Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) plant, a £1.5bn investment which requires carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

The MP raised lack of clarity on the proposed CO2 collection pipe at Energy Security and Net Zero questions in the Commons on Tuesday (4 July) but received no real answer from the Minister. This led Alex to raise the issue again in Parliament today (5 July) as part of “Estimates Day” which provides MPs with an opportunity to consider the estimates of public spending by government departments.

Speaking in Parliament Alex said:

“My concerns […] is that the Government may well be short-changing not just the potential project on Teesside but potential projects across the country.”

Going on to add:

“Uncertainty, the Minister knows, is the killer of investment and at the moment we have no clear steer about what is happening beyond learning that the on-shore CO2 pipework roll out is more limited than expected.”

Alex is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage and is working with closely with the North East of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC) to support the chemical industry through this process.

Alex said:

“Industries like those on Teesside need certainty and my message to the Minister today is that we need the on-shore CO2 collection pipework to be fully built as planned to enable these, and other companies, to capture their CO2. They need this certainty as do other potential investors who are looking for somewhere to set up new plants. Without this full commitment from the Government areas like Teesside risk losing its advantage, with jobs and investment going elsewhere.”