United Kingdom – As part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Phase 2 Carbon Capture and Storage Cluster Sequencing process, Hanson Padeswood Cement Works in Flintshire has been shortlisted for funding.
The announcement is a further step in establishing the UK’s first net zero cement works and installing carbon capture technology at the site as part of the HyNet decarbonization cluster. HyNet and East Coast Clusters were chosen as the Track 1 CCUS clusters in October 2021, and BEIS has now chosen 20 projects from these clusters to move on to the Phase 2 due diligence stage.
Net zero carbon cement
If Padeswood receives funding, it will enable Hanson to start producing net zero carbon cement as early as 2027 and put the UK construction industry on a path to meeting the government’s legally binding net zero targets by capturing and storing 800,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. In addition, it would safeguard 222 jobs, develop 54 new full-time, highly skilled positions, and up to 350 jobs during construction.
Despite being a crucial component of concrete and a necessary building material for which there is no practical substitute, cement production is carbon-intensive. As a result, capturing and storing emissions is the only way to produce the cement the UK needs without emitting a significant amount of carbon.
