Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support the decarbonisation of industry in South West Wales through the development of non‑pipeline carbon capture, utilisation and storage projects.

The government recognises the importance of CCUS and NPT to the decarbonisation of South Wales. As part of the CCUS Programme, we are working with the South Wales Industrial Cluster to assess viable decarbonisation pathways, including CCUS enabled solutions via non-pipeline transport.

The government’s consultation on its proposals for NPT deployment across the UK has just concluded and we are in the process of analysing responses.

Alongside this, the government launched the NPT Pathfinder Selection Process on the 9 April. This is the first time NPT projects will be eligible to apply for storage at the East Coast Cluster and we look forward to seeing which projects come forward to take up this exciting opportunity.

Both initiatives will help inform further NPT deployment in the future, and as such, support the decarbonisation of South Wales.