UK deputy PM backs carbon capture

Rotherham, UK - The UK’s deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has highlighted the importance of investing in carbon capture and storage (CCS) at the launch of a report on the technology by the Special Metals Forum (SMF) and National Metals Technology Centre (NAMTEC).

According to the SMF/NAMTEC report, the technologies employed and the opportunities available for UK businesses to capitalise on the “highly niche” CCS sector are worth an estimated £6.5 billion and could create up to 100,000 jobs by 2030.

Delegates from the UK’s engineering and manufacturing industries gathered at the Advanced Manufacturing Park Technology Centre in Rotherham for the launch.

The event which focuses on reductions in emissions from fossil fuelled power stations - identified as a major carbon reduction strategy in a 2010 Government report.

The SMF is informing the UK metals manufacturing industry of the opportunities presented by the emerging CCS marketplace, which, it said is largely unexplored. The organisdation is also providing support to companies entering the supply chain.

At the event, deputy PM Clegg said: “CCS will play an enormously important part in the new, rebalanced economy. It is an industry of the future, taking the best of British talents in manufacturing, engineering and research, using our natural resources and spreading growth - green, sustainable growth - across all corners of the UK.

“We could create and sustain up to 100,000 new, high skilled jobs. And, at the same time, we can massively cut our carbon emissions. And, make no mistake, this isn’t simply well-meaning environmentalism. This is hard-headed economics. We know that, without CCS, halving global emissions by 2050 will be 70% more expensive.”

More than 60 organisations have contributed their expertise and technical interests to the SMF/NAMTEC report, which offers a lists key operators and manufacturers already active in areas including advanced supercritical plant new-build and retrofit, pre and post combustion carbon capture, oxyfuel carbon capture and the handling, transport and storage of carbon dioxide.

While the economic and environmental benefits of CCS have been widely discussed, the technological and manufacturing challenges still require significant development and offer a significant opportunity for the UK to capture a competitive advantage, noted Alan Partridge, chief executive officer of NAMTEC.

“Many technical challenges remain in implementing carbon capture on the scale required, and hence this is a significant area for research and development, particularly in regard to the advancement of corrosion resistance in metals, high integrity joining methods, surface treatments and forming processes for high surface area applications,” said Partridge.

“Widespread deployment of carbon capture over the coming years is likely to necessitate a rapid expansion of existing supply chains, in addition to the emergence of new supply chains for developing equipment,” he added. “Manufacturing companies in the UK and elsewhere are now starting to engage with the technical challenges involved in carbon capture.”