Construction firms have begun jostling for position to win the jobs to build two carbon capture and storage (CCS) sites that were backed by the prime minister last week.
Balfour Beatty and Costain said they had the tools and skills to deliver the “mega” projects announced by the prime minister.
The two sites, planned for Merseyside and Teesside, will deliver 4,000 jobs and support 50,000 more in the long-term, according to the government. The two projects will receive up to £21.7bn of direct government investment, spread over the next 25 years.
Costain and Balfour Beatty are already involved in the project at Teesside, specifically around the pipeline system which will take the carbon to Teesside from sites around the UK.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero told Construction News that the projects will be managed by local delivery organisations so the government will not be releasing any tenders or appointing any contractors. Net Zero Teesside Power and Net Zero North West will be the lead organisations for delivery.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said last week that the two projects could “reignite our industrial heartlands by investing in the industry of the future”. He added that he expects the announcement to attract £8bn of private investment into the local communities.
Balfour Beatty chief executive Leo Quinn said the CCS development announcement was a “powerful move from ambition to action”.
“These groundbreaking projects will fuel job creation and skills, boost economic growth and, most importantly, position the UK as a leader in the fight against the climate crisis,” he added, saying his firm “stands ready” to help deliver the plans.
Costain chief executive Alex Vaughan also threw his weight behind the “crucial, and bold, step on the UK’s path to net zero”.
“We have the knowledge, tools, skills and talent to rise to any challenge; is there any project more ‘mega’ than tackling the climate crisis?” he said.
Costain is already working with BP and Net Zero Teesside to deliver the onshore pipeline system for carbon capture at Teesside. Costain also bagged a multimillion-pound engineering and design contract to develop a new hydrogen pipeline network in Teesside for BP in August.
The work will prepare the ground for the construction of a 31km onshore pipeline distribution network that will take purified and dehydrated hydrogen to industrial users, from a BP hydrogen production facility built recently on Teesside.
Jacobs was appointed last week, alongside project management firm PA Consulting, to deliver project management and strategic advisory services to the government’s entire carbon capture, usage and storage programme.
The government said its development plans will help remove more than 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year – equivalent to taking around four million cars off the road.
Recent governments have come under sustained pressure to bring CCS facilities on board, with the Climate Change Committee warning in 2019 that it was “a necessity not an option”.
The Labour Party’s pre-election manifesto pledged to prioritise net-zero technology and infrastructure, including plans for a £1bn fund for carbon capture deployment. It also pledged to create a National Wealth Fund aimed at funding clean energy, promising £7.3bn of public funding and private money on top of that.
