BOSSES behind a project that could bring major investment and jobs to Barrow have called on the Government to create a 'pathway' for projects like it.

Spirit Energy, which is repurposing the Rampside Gas Terminals into a carbon storage facility, reacted after the Government announced it was investing nearly £22 billion into carbon capture technology in Merseyside and Teesside.

Spirit’s Energy’s plan to turn the terminals and gas fields into a carbon storage cluster is estimated to generate a £1.8 billion boost for the economy by 2050 – and support thousands of jobs.

The company says it has partnered with a group of cement and lime producers in the Peak District to permanently store close to four million tonnes of industrial carbon dioxide emissions in the Morecambe Net Zero (MNZ) carbon store each year from 2030

Neil McCulloch, CEO of Spirit Energy, comments: “carbon capture and storage  is key to delivering the Government’s guiding mission to deliver clean energy by 2030 and to deliver the net zero 2050 goals.

"It offers a vital lifeline to the hard-to-abate industries that so many UK jobs and livelihoods rely on, and today’s announcement represents a vote of confidence in not only CCS, but the industrial heartlands that stand to benefit from the technology.  

“Following progress on Track-1, the Government must now create a pathway for other mature CCS projects, such as our plans to create a billion tonnes of carbon storage in the depleted gas fields at Morecambe Bay, decarbonising 40% of the UK’s cement and lime industry.

"It’s only by unlocking further private investment that the Government deliver growth, clean energy and a bright future for the UK’s industrial heartlands; without the need for significant upfront taxpayer money.”

Following the announcement, Prime Minster Sir Keir Starmer said carbon capture is a #race that we can win”'thanks to the UK’s geology, heritage and experience in green finance.

He said: “This is a technology that’s now arrived, that is ready with this investment to scale.

“But it is just the start. I’ve always believed that clean energy is a golden opportunity for our country, a chance to bring security and hope to working people, relight the fires of renewal in those areas that got hit so hard by deindustrialisation.”