The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband MP, visited North Sea Midstream Partners’ St Fergus Gas Terminal, following the announcement of development funding for the Acorn project in the Chancellor’s Spending Review.

The Secretary of State was joined by Acorn General Manager, Nic Braley, Storegga Chief Executive Officer, Tim Stedman and the Acorn and Scottish Cluster Partners.

Acorn and Scottish Cluster partners will receive around £200 million in development funding – the first-time government support of this scale has been provided for the project. The funding also includes support for the National Gas SCO₂T Connect project, which will repurpose 175 miles of existing pipeline infrastructure providing a transport route for industry in central Scotland to Acorn’s CO2 storage.

The announcement is a major milestone in advancing Scotland’s only Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project. Acorn will support economic growth, create and safeguard tens of thousands of jobs and deliver the much-needed CCS infrastructure to support a successful energy transition for our communities.

Nic Braley, General Manager, Acorn, commented:
“We welcome today’s announcement in the Comprehensive Spending Review, confirming UK Government development funding to advance the project towards Final Investment Decision (FID) in this Parliament – an important step for the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industries in Scotland.

“The government has a vital role to play in the success of this project and we will continue to work closely with them to discuss the detail of this announcement and how we proceed. We look forward to developing the next phase of the project which will require both short-term and sustained long-term commitment from government to enable FID.

“Acorn will support economic growth, create and safeguard tens of thousands of jobs and deliver the much-needed CCS infrastructure to support a successful energy transition for our communities.”

Tim Stedman, Chief Executive Officer, Storegga, commented:
“We warmly welcome the UK Government’s commitment to development funding for the Acorn project. This vital support will enable the critical work needed to reach Final Investment Decision (FID) and marks a major step forward — not only for Acorn, but for the development of Scotland’s CCS infrastructure and the growth of a UK-wide carbon capture and storage industry.

Acorn’s strategic value goes beyond emissions reductions; it lays the foundation to protect vital industries, safeguard skilled jobs, and unlock new economic growth. To fully realise the UK’s potential in CCS — as an enabler of industrial decarbonisation and a driver of export opportunity — both immediate and sustained, long-term commitment from Government is required to support FID and enable private investment.

The UK has a strong advantage in geography and capability — and nowhere is that more evident than in the North Sea. With some of the most extensive and well-characterised CO₂ storage capacity in Europe, Acorn has the potential to support domestic decarbonisation at scale and, over time, contribute to wider demand for storage solutions.

With the right policy and funding frameworks, Acorn can help position the UK to deliver greater energy security, industrial resilience and long-term clean and export-led growth. 

We look forward to working with both the Scottish and UK Governments in the months ahead to understand the details of today’s commitment, and to ensure the policy, regulatory and funding frameworks are in place to build and grow a world-leading UK CCS sector.”

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband MP, said:
“This government is putting its money where its mouth is and backing the trailblazing Acorn project.

“This will support industrial renewal in Scotland with thousands of highly-skilled jobs at good wages to build Britain’s clean energy future.

“Carbon capture will make working people in Britain’s hard-working communities better off, breathing new life into their towns and cities and reindustrialising the country through our Plan for Change.”

Acorn

Acorn is a CO₂ transportation and storage system which reuses legacy oil and gas infrastructure to transport captured industrial CO₂ emissions from the Scottish Cluster, to permanent storage 2.5km (1.5miles) under the North Sea.

The Acorn stores are connected to the Scottish mainland by existing legacy pipelines. Repurposing these assets reduces project delivery risk, cost and environmental impact.

These existing pipelines could transport up to 20 Mtpa of CO₂ to the Acorn stores, during peak operations.

Industry in the Central Belt of Scotland will be able to send their captured CO₂ to the Acorn storage sites thanks to National Gas Transmission repurposing an existing onshore natural gas pipeline – the SCO₂T Connect project.

And the reach of Acorn goes beyond Scotland too – there is potential to use non-pipeline transportation, like shipping, to move captured CO₂ to the Acorn storage sites. This would enable Acorn to support the decarbonisation of industry across the UK and even internationally.

One of the UK’s most mature and best understood stores: CO₂ will be stored approx. 100km offshore from St. Fergus, in sandstone rock 2.5km under the seabed, sealed by a caprock approximately 400m thick.

Over time, the trapped CO₂ will bind with elements of the surrounding rock to create solid, chalky minerals, permanently locking the CO₂ into place.

Storage will extend as demand requires, into nearby geological structures which also already have pipeline access and CO₂ storage licenses. All Acorn storage sites have been independently verified as suitable for CO₂ storage.

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