Chapman, who is also chairman of the CCS Cost Reduction Taskforce, made the comments following today’s release of the Taskforce’s final report on The Potential for Reducing the Costs of CCS in the UK.

The report identifies the opportunities for cost reduction across the CCS chain to achieve cost competitive CCS in the 2020s.

Chapman said: “The final report of the CCS Cost Reduction Taskforce confirms that CCS is a vital technology in the UK’s low-carbon mix, and with the cost reductions anticipated in this report it will be a low-cost decarbonisation option for both the power and industrial sectors in the very near future.

“The report also identified a gap in policy and financing regimes for CCS in industrial sectors, we will be working closely with DECC and BiS in the coming months on how to fill this gap. The availability of CCS for many industrial sectors will be crucial to ensuring the creation and retention of these vital industries in the UK,” he added.

Minister for Energy and Industry, Michael Fallon welcomed the report and emphasised the UK’s position as one of the world leaders for CCS.

“Our £1bn competition to kick-start a cost competitive industry in the UK is making good progress,” he said.

He added that the Government will be responding “in detail” to the report’s recommendations and that the Government is committed to working with industry so that CCS can “realise its potential” and compete on cost with other low carbon technologies without capital support from Government.

However, CEO of the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), David Clarke said although the report is a “step in the right direction” the emphasis now is on making the recommendations “a reality”.

“There is still a long way to go to de-risk CCS – storage identification, capture technology development and demonstration, establishing market and investor confidence – all areas the ETI are continuing to address, but this report sets out some clear guidance on how CCS can evolve and become an important contributor to a low carbon economy in the UK,” he said.

According to a report released in April, compiled by the Low Carbon Innovation Coordination Group (LCICG), CCS could reduce UK energy system costs by £10bn-£45bn by 2050.

Leigh Stringer

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