Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to fund a clean steel demonstrator project.

The Government recognises the vital role that the sector plays across the UK to benefit our economy. We will continue to work with the sector to support its decarbonisation.

In March 2021, the Government published the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy in which we committed to working with the Steel Council to consider the implications of the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee to ‘set targets for ore-based steelmaking to reach near-zero emissions by 2035 and the business environment necessary to support the transition. We will provide further information in due course.

Published in October, the Net Zero Strategy committed to provide further support for research and innovation to enable the fuel switch to low carbon hydrogen on industrial sites, such as integrated steelworks. This will be delivered through the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio and initiatives led by the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre.