The strategy, developed by the Advanced Power Generation Technology Forum (APGTF), aims to confront the challenges of scaling-up and reducing the costs of CCS, and to ensure the UK is at the forefront of CCS technology development and commercialisation.

Members of the APGTF – the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) and the UK CCS Research Centre (UKCCSRC) – claim that CCS will play a pivotal role if the fossil fuel and energy-intensive industries are to keep in step with the low-carbon agenda.

According to the APGTF, confidence is growing that CCS can be safely employed at the necessary scale and at a cost at least comparable to other low-carbon power generation options.

APGTF chairman Philip Sharman said: “Our strategy comes at an exciting time for CCS in the UK with the launch of the first front-end engineering and design study in the UK Commercialisation Programme in December and supplements the Government’s CCS Roadmap by providing detailed recommendations for research and development which we anticipate will be used by industry and the various funding bodies that support CCS development.”

Issues relating to the implementation of CCS have held the technolgy back from becoming one of the tools that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Experts say that in order to see the industry take off, the technology needs to be studied on a larger scale. The costs associated with the construction and implementation of CCS have made the technology ‘impractical’ for power station to invest in.

However, Energy Technologies Institute CEO David Clarke said that the research indicates that without a national CCS infrastructure, the cost of reaching UK Climate Change targets will double from a minimum of around £30bn per year in 2050.

“That shows the importance of the technology and the importance of the debate about how we make it a reality,” he said.

Leigh Stringer

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