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52 min ago 4 min read
The Carbon Capture and Storage Association, Hydrogen UK and Electrify Industry have joined forces to call on the UK government to present clear policy direction and investment signals to drive industrial decarbonisation.
In a joint letter, they urge the government to prioritise each sector’s needs to protect jobs and energy security.
High electricity costs, global competition and policy uncertainty are already driving closures and constraining investment, weakening the UK’s ability to produce essential materials for infrastructure, healthcare, construction and energy systems.
The signatories argue that industrial decarbonisation is central to economic resilience and national security in an increasingly volatile global environment but the Middle East crisis is putting a handbrake on developments due to high energy costs and rising inflation.
Without decisive intervention, the UK risks deeper reliance on imports, exposure to supply chain shocks and the erosion of domestic industrial capability, the three bodies claim.
The letter urges the government to reduce industrial electricity costs and deliver the British Industrial Competitiveness scheme; accelerate key technologies including electrification, hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS); streamline planning and regulatory processes; and provide long-term policy and funding certainty.
It also calls for the UK to develop a strong pipeline of investable decarbonisation projects, expand workforce skills through the clean jobs plan, and introduce a robust carbon border adjustment mechanism for all affected industries.
Industry leaders warn that continued delays, including the long-overdue hydrogen strategy, are undermining investor confidence, with major projects already struggling to progress without clear routes to market.
Olivia Powis, CEO of the CCSA, said CCUS is critical to the future of UK industry.
“Without it, key sectors like cement and refining cannot decarbonise or stay competitive, risking industry leaving the UK. Therefore, the government must now move at pace to provide the certainty needed to unlock billions in investment and deliver CCUS projects at scale,” she said.
Clare Jackson, Chief Executive of Hydrogen UK, said supporting industrial decarbonisation is crucial to protect the UK’s industries, jobs and supply chains that underpin its economy and national security.
“Hydrogen is essential for the hard-to-abate sectors that cannot simply electrify, but the ongoing delay of the UK’s refreshed hydrogen strategy is now putting real projects at risk,” she said.
“The long-overdue decisions for the second Hydrogen Allocation Round, (HAR2), is holding back investment in the northeast, northwest and Yorkshire and the Humber, creating a regional divide between communities that should be at the heart of the UK’s clean industrial future. With major investors ready to move and billions of pounds waiting to be deployed, government needs to play its part and provide the certainty investors and industry needed to move forward.”
A 20-strong industry group recently urged the UK government to back the in northwest England with £500m ($674m) in a bid to unlock investment and safeguard jobs.
Daniel Paterson, Director of Policy and Government Affairs, Electrify Industry, said Britain’s artificially high costs on electricity bills are a drag anchor on industrial investment.
Despite electrification offering the opportunity to modernise industry, improve productivity, and reduce carbon emissions, British industrial employers are locked out of such investment options.
“Without direct action on the policy and infrastructure costs that inflate the price of electricity for British industry, our nation’s employers and innovators will fall behind in the global race to modernise,” he said.
Nine electrolytic hydrogen projects representing 1.1GW of capacity have been selected under the third European Hydrogen Bank auction.
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