The government has committed to expanding carbon capture, utilisation and storage across Britain’s industrial heartlands, but warned that future projects will face tighter public spending constraints as ministers grapple with fiscal pressures.
Martin McCluskey, Minister for Local Energy and Jobs, told delegates at the Carbon Capture and Storage Association’s annual conference that the technology is central to the government’s reindustrialisation agenda, enabling cement works, refineries, chemical plants and power stations to reduce emissions while protecting skilled employment.
According to the minister’s speech published on GOV.UK, five carbon capture projects have already secured final investment decisions. In the East Coast Cluster, the Northern Endurance Partnership and Net Zero Teesside Power are supporting around 3,000 jobs during construction. In the North West and North Wales, the HyNet cluster’s Liverpool Bay CCS project is backing over 1,400 jobs, while the Padeswood cement works and Protos energy-from-waste facility will support more than 600 jobs combined.
McCluskey described carbon capture not simply as environmental infrastructure but as economic infrastructure that allows existing industries to decarbonise rather than close. “The alternative cannot be to close British industry, import the same products from elsewhere and pretend the emissions have disappeared,” he said. “That would not be deindustrialisation by another name.”
Investment and supply chain growth
Projects in the East Coast Cluster have announced over £2 billion of supply-chain contracts awarded to more than 260 UK suppliers to date, the minister revealed. They have also committed over £1 million to local skills development, with 175 young people in training. The industry currently supports around 5,500 jobs across the UK.
The government is funding development of CCUS infrastructure in the Humber region as part of the Viking cluster and supporting Acorn CCS in Scotland. Two Teesside-based competitions are running this year to support expansion, with next steps to be announced soon.
However, McCluskey acknowledged that the next phase of the programme will unfold against a backdrop of difficult fiscal decisions. “It is no secret that we are operating in a challenging fiscal environment, and this government remains committed to meeting its fiscal rules,” he told the conference. “That may mean making decisions about priorities, sequencing and pace, and recognising that progress will not always happen everywhere at once.”
Reducing reliance on subsidies
The minister emphasised that as the carbon capture sector matures, the requirement for government subsidy will need to fall if it is to remain sustainable in the long term. The Prime Minister has made clear that UK projects must deliver for British workers and businesses, he added.
McCluskey, who was appointed to the new ministerial role in July 2024, said his focus is on ensuring every community benefits from the energy transition. He described his constituency as a former shipbuilding hub where employment in the yards has fallen from around 10,000 in the late 1950s to fewer than 200 today, illustrating the industrial decline the government aims to reverse.
The minister said the government wants to move beyond first-of-a-kind projects by developing policies that offer industry greater leadership and flexibility, including simplifying access to networks, enabling non-pipeline connections, and allowing international transfers of CO2.
What this means for Poles in the UK
Carbon capture projects are creating job opportunities in engineering, construction and skilled trades across industrial regions including Teesside, the North West, North Wales, the Humber and Scotland. Poles working in or seeking employment in manufacturing, energy, cement production, chemicals and construction may find opportunities in supply chains linked to these developments.
The government’s emphasis on UK supply chains and local skills development means training and apprenticeship programmes are being rolled out in cluster regions. Workers with experience in offshore infrastructure, engineering and technical roles—particularly those who have worked in oil and gas—may find their skills transferable to carbon capture projects.
However, the minister’s warning about fiscal constraints suggests that future project announcements may be delayed or scaled back, potentially affecting the pace of job creation. Those considering relocating for work in this sector should monitor announcements from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and check regional skills programmes in areas where clusters are being built.
Official information on carbon capture projects and related job opportunities can be found on GOV.UK and through regional development agencies in the East Coast, North West, Humber and Scottish clusters.
