Wendy
4/29/2025 1:46:25 PM
4 mins read
Regional economic drivers and leading industrial voices have backed a call for the Humber’s carbon capture plans to be championed by government.
The Northern Powerhouse Partnership, Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce, Humber Energy Board and the Carbon Capture and Storage Association have all endorsed power company VPI’s ambition to be the anchor emitter for the Viking CCS project as attention turns to the Comprehensive Spending Review and Treasury funding decisions.
VPI, behind steam and power generation for heavy industry operating in the UK’s most carbon intensive industrial cluster, is planning to deploy a £1.5 billion carbon capture proposal that will see carbon dioxide removed before hitting the atmosphere, instead sending them down new and repurposed pipelines to be stored permanently under the near North Sea.
With the potential to create 1,500 jobs at peak construction, high value permanent roles will follow, while ensuring ongoing operations for decades. A further 20,000 jobs are envisaged for the wider Viking CCS build out, including a huge import opportunity.
Jonathan Oxley, executive director of Humber Energy Board, said: “The Viking CCS project is a key component of the infrastructure needed to decarbonise and secure the future of industries across the Humber. It represents one of the best options to deliver industry decarbonisation in the UK, let alone the Humber, and we urge the UK Government to provide clear signals of support and commitment that will allow business to invest to rejuvenate Humber industry, provide high-quality jobs across the wider region, and help the UK meet its net zero targets.”
Olivia Powis, chief executive of the Carbon Capture Storage Association, said the timing was vital. “Viking CCS represents the kind of strategic investment the UK needs to ensure long-term industrial competitiveness and product security, protect and create thousands of jobs in industrial areas and drive economic growth whilst meeting its climate ambitions,” she said.
“Located in the Humber - the UK’s most industrialised and carbon-intensive region – Viking CCS is uniquely positioned to accelerate decarbonisation, safeguard vital industries and products, unlock jobs and investment, and provide growth and security for both the region and the country.
“As we approach the conclusion of the Spending Review, it is vital that Track Two projects like Viking CCS - alongside other clusters and projects - receive clear and timely signals from government. The window of opportunity is narrow: if we fail to scale up CCUS now, we risk facing further industrial closures, job losses, and seeing investors and developers move elsewhere.”
Urgency was underlined by Henri Murison, chief executive of The Northern Powerhouse Partnership. He said: “The Humber has the potential to be the UK’s engine room for industrial decarbonisation – but only if this government acts rather than dithers as the previous one did. Businesses are ready to invest, but they need clarity and confidence that the necessary infrastructure will be backed.”
Pointing to research conducted for his organisation by Cambridge Econometrics, showing £8 of every £10 invested in industrial decarbonisation in the North can be leveraged private investment - not upfront from the Treasury – Mr Murison said: “Projects like Viking CCS are not just vital for hitting Net Zero – they are critical to creating good jobs, securing energy resilience, and underpinning the production of products like sustainable aviation fuel. With the right support, we can turn the Humber into a globally recognised example of clean industrial strategy.”
David Hooper, external affairs director at Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce, said: “We hosted the Secretary of State, Ed Miliband, in the region recently, and he told us how he wants the Humber to become a clean energy superpower and to provide energy security for future generations. He was left in no doubt by Humber business leaders that getting the green light from Government for these projects will unlock massive investment and create thousands of jobs.
“The Viking CCS project is one of the key projects in achieving this goal, and we wholeheartedly back VPI’s call for clarity on the way forward.
“Private investment awaiting the right signals from Westminster is measured in the billions, and we need to make sure we land it, not just for the Humber’s future, but for UK Plc as a whole.”
