Nick and Fergus had a great time at the Geological Society Business Forum event, hosted by Mayer Brown in London last week. The packed room reflected the strong and growing interest in the UK’s CCS opportunity – from policy and storage to financing and project delivery.
Nick opened the event with a keynote address that provide:
- A global snapshot of CCS deployment – with over 1 billion tonnes injected to date and 600+ projects in development worldwide.
- A UK perspective – highlighting £22bn in public funding commitments, the significance of UK–EU ETS linkage, and the government’s use of business models such as CFDs and Regulated Asset Base frameworks to unlock early projects.
- A detailed update on our Perenco CCS (Carbon Storage) operated Poseidon Project – confirming high injectivity in our Southern North Sea storage site following the UK’s first CO₂ injection test, and demonstrating the technical readiness of this strategic location close to London, SE England and Continental Europe.
The panel discussion that followed – chaired by Beth Hebditch (Carbon Capture and Storage Association) – explored how we move from government-backed to private-financeable CCS markets.
Huge thanks to all the panellists for their insights:
- Christine Yallup (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
- Mike Maudsley (enfinium)
- Fergus Marcroft (Carbon Catalyst Limited)
- Chris Wright (Societe Generale)
- Massimo Amoruso (Mayer Brown)
Key discussion themes included:
- The importance of government de-risking in early CCS projects – and how to transition that support to private investors and insurers.
- The need for carbon pricing and credit markets to evolve to reflect the real cost of decarbonisation.
- The challenge of bankability in the face of cross-chain, business interruption and geological risks – and how transitional financial mechanisms can help bridge the gap.
- Opportunities to monetise GHG removals via a credible removals credit market in the future.
We are proud to be helping shape and deliver the next wave of UK and European CCS projects. Big Thanks to Graham Goffey, chair of the Geological Society Business Forum for facilitating such an important and timely conversation, and to Mayer Brown for hosting us all.
We look forward to continuing the dialogue – and to advancing the projects that will turn policy into permanent carbon storage.
