UK splits £171mn across nine CCS and hydrogen projects

UKRI competition is latest stage of mission to create first net-zero industrial cluster by 2040

The UK has awarded £171mn ($238mn) of public funding across nine significant decarbonisation projects. The capital is the second phase of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS’) “industrial clusters mission” to significantly reduce the emissions of at least one industrial cluster by 2030 on the road to it achieving net-zero status by 2040. While the announcement has, of course, been universally welcomed by the recipient projects it does little to narrow the field for which cluster—or clusters—will ultimately receive sufficient support to achieve the BEIS target. While the phase two funding pot was larger than that for phase one, it represents enough capital only