Industry stakeholder perceptions of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage: The case study of the Tees Valley Industrial Cluster

Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) has increasingly been considered an essential mitigation technology to contribute to the Net Zero transition. The technology captures carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industry processes and either purifies and inserts the gas again in the circular economy as a component of other products and industry processes (utilisation), or transports it to a suitable underground storage, to remove the emissions and stop them from reaching the atmosphere. The United Kingdom (UK) is endowed with unique geology, skills, and infrastructure, which provides the country with a strategic advantage for CCUS when compared to other countries, especially the coastal North Sea regions, such as the Tees Valley. This study focused on the Tees Valley Industrial Cluster to understand the constraining and enabling factors of the CCUS technology deployment, from the perspective of those involved in promoting and adopting the technology, namely technology experts, researchers, local policy makers and those working in the business and industry sectors, and which are targeted to reduce their GHG emissions. Two workshops were held with stakeholders shared and discussed their attitudes towards the technology, perceived benefits of the technology, perceived barriers and enablers for implementation and perceived factors that would need to be in place to support technology implementation. Notes collected in the workshops generated qualitative data, which was analysed to identify common themes. There has been agreement that the business and industry sectors must play their part at mitigating climate change. It has also been considered that it is fundamental to support the green transition and the implementation of net zero-related technologies. The benefits of CCUS included its contribution to fulfil Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) standards and an increased ability to attract young workers, interested in sustainability. Barriers for implementation include lack of knowledge about the technology, costs of the technology, volatility of the carbon markets, political uncertainty, perceived risks, and negative public perceptions. Regional factors such as local political support was identified as crucial to the success of technology deployment. A reliable UK Industry Strategy, investment in the technology and supply chain, local investment in skills, knowledge, education, and research were considered essential to ensure further technology adoption.