CCUS 2025: Collaboration over competition defines UK’s Carbon Capture push

Image source: CCSA

At the CCUS 2025 Conference held in London lastweek, the future of carbon capture and storage didn’t sound just like a tale of pipes and permits—it sounded like a movement.

Engineers, bankers, and policymakers gathered to share a rare kind of optimism about how the UK and Europe might still reach their net-zero goals. Funding is complex, politics uncertain, but one message rang out: no one can do this alone.

A Startup Mindset for Heavy Industry

When Phil Hemmens, Senior Advisor, Eni CCUS Holdings, described their company as a “billion-dollar startup,” the room seemed to take notice. The energy giant is betting on collaboration and experimentation, not rivalry, to build the UK’s first large-scale CCS network. Its 149 kilometers of repurposed pipeline will connect emitters from cement to hydrogen under a shared infrastructure model, a kind of industrial alliance for the carbon age.

Nick Flinn, VP Decarbonisation & Emerging Technologies at Shell agreed that collaborating had made the difference: “Working on partnership and even oversharing led to coming up with a viable product.” Heidelberg Materials UK’s CEO Simon Willis went further, noting that “collaboration, not competition led to progress.” For now, the companies say the cooperative spirit remains intact even after reaching key investment milestones.

Hemmens added that these early ventures are still experimental. “This is a first-of-a-kind industry for everyone involved—emitters, infrastructure companies, regulators and investors,” the company’s representative said. “It’s not operational yet.”

Cross-Border Carbon and Europe’s New Geography of Storage

As the UK builds out its first carbon clusters, it’s also looking across the Channel. French industries, panelists noted, could soon be shipping their CO2 to Britain, where geological formations beneath the North Sea offer cheaper and closer storage than southern Europe. Nick Flinn said the company already has 10 pre-FID projects in motion and that “EU CO2 is already being discussed as a supply for one of them.”

That vision depends on the UK and EU linking their emissions trading systems—an agreement both sides say would unlock cross-border investment. The timeframe is short, one participant warned, with 2030 climate goals closing in. If successful, the arrangement could mark one of the first tangible forms of climate cooperation after Brexit, creating a shared carbon economy from Aberdeen to Marseille.

A Race Between Industry Speed and Regulatory Caution

Even as momentum builds, a familiar tension has emerged: business wants to move faster than government can regulate. Several executives voiced frustration at delays, saying lessons from early projects should accelerate—not stall—future approvals. But several government representatives agreed that industry’s desire to move faster is understandable but pointed out that different costs have been higher than expected and learnings from the first projects have to be taken on board.

Officials insist that getting the rules right now will save money and risk later, from carbon leakage to long-term liability. Developers countered that every extra month of review threatens investor confidence and puts projects behind Europe’s climate schedule. Still, most agreed that balance is key. “Cross-party support has been essential,” one participant said, “and must stay that way as the framework evolves.”

Former energy minister Chris Skidmore OBE offered a note of caution. “Political will is diminishing for climate initiatives,” he said, urging a sharper focus on climate finance “so the burden isn’t only placed on the taxpayer.” He highlighted cement and concrete as essential industries being too vital to offshore and too carbon-heavy to ignore.

The Money Question

Others stressed that future financial investment decisions (FIDs) are the next critical step. The Peak Cluster expects one “by the end of this parliament,” while Holcim plans several by 2026. Each new decision represents not just financial commitment, but political proof that CCS can move from pilot to permanence.

In a sector still dependent on public backing, banks are learning to price the future. Representatives from Lloyds and Rabobank discussed the challenge of bankability for 25-year projects with shifting political winds.

From the insurance side, Marsh’s representative admitted, “Insurance risk for CCUS is hard to allocate,” with leakage and chain-of-custody liabilities still being worked out.

If there was a common thread across the two days, it was that trust—between governments, companies, investors, and communities—will matter as much as engineering. Business may want to sprint, but government prefers a measured pace. Both understand they need each other. For now, collaboration remains CCS’s most valuable resource, and perhaps its greatest innovation.

source: carbon herald