Italian oil and gas company Eni has secured funding from the UK Government for the Liverpool Bay carbon dioxide (CO₂) transport and storage project.  

This initiative aims to repurpose existing infrastructure to transport and securely store CO₂ emissions from industrial sites in north-west England and north Wales. 

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The captured CO₂ will be transported to Eni’s depleted natural gas reservoirs beneath the Irish Sea, preventing the emissions from being released into the atmosphere. 

Eni said the funding is part of the investment for Track 1 industrial emitters and marks a significant step towards the execution phase of the HyNet project.  

With an initial storage capacity of 4.5 million tonnes per annum (tpa) of CO₂, and the potential to increase to 10mtpa post-2030, the project is expected to substantially contribute to the reduction of industrial emissions.  

It aligns with the UK’s ambitious goal to store 20–30mtpa of CO₂. 

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The project is expected to transform one of the UK’s most energy-intensive industrial regions into a low-carbon industrial cluster by utilising the depleted reservoirs operated by Eni in Liverpool Bay.  

UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband said: “On Monday, 150 years of coal in this country came to an end. Today, a new era begins.  

“By securing this funding, we pave the way for securing the clean energy revolution that will rebuild Britain’s industrial heartlands. I was proud to kick-start the industry in 2009, and I am even prouder today to turn it into reality.” 

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said: “Today’s news is an important step towards the creation of a new business chain linked to the energy transition. HyNet will become one of the first low-carbon clusters in the world and the project will decarbonise one of the key energy-intensive industrial districts as well as unlock significant economic growth in this region of the UK.” 

Recently, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to allocate nearly £22bn ($28.97bn) over 25 years to fund carbon capture and storage projects across two clusters in the north of England.  

This funding will support infrastructure and transportation for capturing carbon emissions from various sources including energy production and hydrogen power.  

The East Coast Cluster, supported by companies such as bp and Equinor, and Eni’s project are the two main developments benefitting from this investment.