ETI & the Ecofin Research Foundation publish report Into mobilising private sector finance for CCS

A new report from the Energy Technologies Institute (“ETI”) and the Ecofin Research Foundation into attracting private sector finance to support the development of Carbon Capture & Storage (“CCS”) in the UK, concludes that successful deployment of the technology could be a huge economic prize for the UK in its low carbon transition – cutting the annual cost of meeting the country’s carbon targets by up to 1% of GDP by 2050.

The report entitled “Carbon Capture and Storage – Mobilising private sector finance for CCS in the UK” explores the challenges that both the public and private sector needs to overcome to help build CCS into a viable low carbon industry that is economically competitive.

Making early CCS projects investable is a key priority in allowing CCS to develop as an industry and fulfill its potential in the UK’s transition to a low carbon economy. Both ETI and Ecofin believe that creating a vision for CCS financing requires willingness on the part of the key public and private sector players to engage and to explore the issues and options open-mindedly.

George Day, Strategy Manager, Economics at the ETI, co-author of the report said: “As well as being a technological opportunity for the UK, CCS is an economic opportunity. However nobody is immune to the fact that the investment case to support development has to be made clearly. CCS is very policy dependent so investors are sensitive but the exploration of public-private partnerships and co-ordination mechanisms can provide a financial solution.”

Dr Angela Whelan, Chief Executive, Ecofin Research Foundation, the reports fellow author adds: "CCS will involve a complex new value chain and new business structures which are unproven at scale. Financial markets are challenging and the CCS value chain will need to be derisked and be more competitive to gain access to private sector capital. A possible solution in the medium term is to explore the possibility of the newly formed Green Investment Bank having a role in facilitating access to finance for CCS."

The full report can be accessed here.

The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) is a public-private partnership between global industries – BP, Caterpillar, EDF, E.ON, Rolls-Royce and Shell – and the UK Government Public sector representation is through the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, with funding channelled through the Technology Strategy Board and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The Department of Energy and Climate Change are observers on the Board. The ETI is focused on accelerating the deployment of affordable, secure low-carbon energy systems for 2020 to 2050 by demonstrating technologies, developing knowledge, skills and supply-chains and informing the development of regulation, standards and policy. www.eti.co.uk