Groundbreaking UK Carbon Capture Projects Aim to Clean Up Heavy Industry
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has emerged as one of the few viable tools to slash emissions from industries that can’t easily switch to clean alternatives. Sectors such as cement and waste-to-energy produce large volumes of carbon dioxide by the very nature of their processes. Without capturing and storing those emissions, the only other way to reach net zero would be to close or offshore these industries — shifting jobs and emissions abroad rather than tackling them at home.
Two new UK projects aim to show that it doesn’t have to be that way. This week the government confirmed that construction will soon begin on two cutting-edge carbon-capture facilities in North Wales and the North West of England. Together they will protect hundreds of skilled jobs, deploy world-leading technology and give Britain a stronger foothold in the growing global CCS market.
One is the UK’s first carbon-capture-enabled cement plant at Padeswood in Flintshire, developed by Heidelberg Materials UK. Cement manufacturing is notoriously carbon-intensive because of the chemical reaction at its core; capturing those emissions is the only route to deep decarbonisation. The other is one of the world’s first full-scale carbon-capture-enabled waste-to-energy plants at Protos in Ellesmere Port, developed by Encyclis. This project will remove carbon dioxide from residual waste treatment, which otherwise emits millions of tonnes a year.
Together, the two facilities are designed to capture around 1.2 million tonnes of CO₂ annually. Both have now signed final contracts with the government’s Low Carbon Contracts Company, moving them from years of planning into the construction phase. They directly support 500 skilled jobs across engineering, construction, operations and safety, with thousands more in the wider HyNet carbon-capture network they anchor.
HyNet – a network of new and repurposed pipelines and storage infrastructure spanning North Wales and the North West – will transport and permanently store the captured CO₂ offshore in the Liverpool Bay area. The government has backed this build-out with £9.4 billion over the current Parliament, positioning CCS as a central plank of its Industrial Strategy.
Ministers say the projects illustrate how the clean energy transition can protect, rather than sacrifice, traditional industries. Energy Minister Michael Shanks called them “trailblazing projects” that showcase North Wales and the North West “on the global stage – leading the charge in the clean industries of the future and powering Britain’s reindustrialisation.”
By providing cement and waste-to-energy companies with a credible decarbonisation route, the Padeswood and Protos projects help preserve “proud British industries” while meeting climate goals. They also serve as a launch-pad for exporting UK know-how, from engineering and safety systems to transport and storage technology, into an expanding international market for carbon capture.
If successful, these schemes will demonstrate that heavy industry and climate action can co-exist – making it possible to cut emissions without pushing jobs and production offshore. For regions built on manufacturing, that could be the difference between decline and a new era of clean-industry growth.