First Commercial-Scale Carbon Capture Plant Reaches Financial Close in UK Industrial Cluster
LONDON, April 24, 2025 – Eni has reached financial close on the Liverpool Bay Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project, the United Kingdom’s first commercial-scale infrastructure to permanently store industrial carbon dioxide emissions beneath the seabed, heralding a new era for large-scale decarbonization of heavy industry.
The landmark agreement with the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) secures funding for a 4.5 million metric ton per year CO₂ transport and storage system that will serve as the backbone of the HyNet industrial cluster. The project represents Europe’s most advanced effort to build a complete carbon capture value chain, connecting emitters across North West England and North Wales to depleted offshore gas reservoirs via 180 kilometers of pipelines and repurposed platforms.
According to the Carbon Capture and Storage Association, this milestone transforms carbon capture from pilot-scale promise into commercial reality, providing a scalable model for industrial regions worldwide struggling to decarbonize cement, steel, and chemical production. The Liverpool Bay project alone will enable the abatement of emissions equivalent to removing 27 million cars from roads annually, positioning the UK at the forefront of the global carbon management market projected to reach $6 trillion by 2050.
Construction begins immediately, creating an estimated 2,000 direct jobs during the 2026-2029 build phase, with operations commencing in late 2026. The infrastructure will initially serve anchor projects including Heidelberg Materials UK’s Padeswood cement plant, which will capture 800,000 mt/year of CO₂, and Encyclis’ Protos waste-to-energy facility, designed to capture 400,000 mt/year while generating 50 MW of clean power from non-recyclable waste. Both facilities reached separate financial close agreements in September 2025, underscoring the ecosystem effect of Eni’s enabling infrastructure.
“Reaching financial close on Liverpool Bay is not merely a corporate milestone—it is the moment carbon capture became bankable,” said Alessandro Puliti, Chief Operating Officer for Natural Resources at Eni. “This project demonstrates that with clear government policy, industrial collaboration, and technological readiness, we can deliver the infrastructure necessary to sustain manufacturing jobs while meeting our net-zero obligations. The economics now work: we have a clear pathway to reduce the full value-chain cost of CCS from current levels of $130-$150 per metric ton toward the UK Emissions Trading Scheme price of £57.04 per ton as the technology scales.”
The project leverages depleted natural gas reservoirs located offshore under the Irish Sea, providing permanent geological storage with projected capacity exceeding 100 million tons over 25 years. This eliminates the need for continuous monitoring associated with onshore storage and reduces transport risks by utilizing established pipeline corridors. SLB Capturi’s recent commissioning of the world’s first commercial cement facility carbon capture system at Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik plant in Norway has provided critical operational data that informed Liverpool Bay’s design specifications, risk assessments, and commissioning protocols, reducing technology uncertainty by an estimated 30 percent.
Market Context and Industrial Impact
The Liverpool Bay financial close arrives as global CCS capacity additions accelerated 35 percent in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency, yet only 45 million tons of annual capture capacity remains operational worldwide—less than 0.2 percent of global emissions. The project’s commercial structure, which includes government support through the Low Carbon Contracts Company, establishes a replicable framework for bridging the gap between project economics and carbon pricing mechanisms.
For the UK’s industrial base, the infrastructure offers a lifeline to energy-intensive sectors facing carbon border adjustments and tightening emissions regulations. The HyNet cluster alone aims to protect 30,000 existing manufacturing jobs while creating 6,000 permanent positions in low-carbon hydrogen, carbon capture, and clean manufacturing by 2035. EET Hydrogen’s 350-MW low-carbon hydrogen plant, BP and Equinor’s Net Zero Teesside Power project, and Heidelberg Materials’ Padeswood facility collectively represent over £5 billion in industrial investments contingent on reliable CO₂ transport and storage.
About HyNet and Eni
HyNet is the UK’s leading industrial decarbonization cluster, focused on delivering the infrastructure required for low-carbon hydrogen production, carbon capture, and clean energy generation. Eni operates the CO₂ transport and storage system as part of a partnership with the UK Government, leveraging decades of offshore engineering expertise and existing North Sea infrastructure. Eni has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and is investing €7 billion in decarbonization projects through 2026.
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