Alstom backs British MEP in call for UK Government to act to secure funding for carbon capture and storage

Alstom has backed a British MEP in his call for the UK Government to act in order to secure hundreds of millions of pounds of funding for carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects.

According to Chris Davies MEP, Ministers have until the end of the month to give guarantees to the European Commission that they will provide additional financial support need to ensure completion of qualifying projects. Figures from the CCSA and the UK Government suggest that CCS could create 100,000 new jobs in the UK and lead to inward investment of £6.5bn, showing how important the technology can be.

And the White Rose project at Drax coal-fired power station, of which Alstom is a key consortium member, is one of those projects that stands to secure European funding if the Government provides the necessary support.

Steve Burgin, UK President, said: CCS where a power stations carbon emissions are captured and stored far below the seabed is a key technology for the UK going forward and Alstom, an internationally recognised leader in the field, is right at the forefront in the UK with our partners in the White Rose project.

 Its vital that we as a country take the opportunities that are made available to us in terms of funding and support as we look to bring this crucial technology to fruition at a large-scale.
Chris Davies MEP said: "This is crunch time for CCS, and Ministers need to knock heads together to make sure that Britain doesn't miss the CCS boat again theres hundreds of millions of pounds of funding available and we cant afford to procrastinate if we want to build and industry that would create jobs and bring investment to the country, as well as helping to fight climate change.

"If we fail within the next two weeks to make the crucial decisions Britain and Europe will lose out on the chance to be global leaders in developing CCS technology, and the world's prospects of fighting climate change will be very much reduced."

Among projects in the running for funding are White Rose in Selby, Don Valley (coal) at Hatfield near Doncaster and Peterhead (gas) in Scotland.  In each case the CO2 removed would be piped for injection deep beneath the North Sea.

Alstom is also involved in CCS projects that have applied for European funding in both Poland and Romania.

• How White Rose project will put the UK in CCS leadership position
• Alstom's global progress on CCS projects around the world
• Alstom's suite of CCS technologies, including White Rose project's oxyfuel technology
• What is CCS and how does it work? Drax, Alstom and BOC explain
• Alstom overview - animation and videos on Oxy CCS technology
• Where is Drax?
• Oxyfuel CCS diagram