The Morecambe Net Zero (MNZ) Cluster, a planned carbon dioxide storage facility off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore storage opportunities for CO2 captured by the Peak Cluster. Together, MNZ and Peak Cluster will accelerate the UK’s journey to net zero.
Peak Cluster is a collaboration decarbonising the heart of the UK’s cement and lime industry. Located in Derbyshire and Staffordshire along with neighbouring industries in Cheshire, Peak Cluster is made up of four of the UK’s leading cement and lime producers – Tarmac, Breedon, Lhoist and Aggregate Industries, alongside the Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant in Cheshire, working together with Progressive Energy, a low-carbon energy project developer.
Spirit Energy, the company leading a consortium to deliver the MNZ Cluster, will transform the depleted North and South Morecambe gas fields into a world-leading carbon storage facility. This facility has the potential to be one of the biggest in Europe, and thanks to its natural geological capacity, the fields have the potential to store up to one gigatonne of CO₂ in its lifetime.
The cement plants within Peak Cluster are responsible for 40 per cent of cement and lime production in the UK, employing well over 1000 people, but emit more than 3Mta of CO2. Through the MoU, MNZ and Peak Cluster will explore together how these organisations could access the MNZ Cluster’s permanent and safe storage solution.
Connecting Peak Cluster to the MNZ Cluster via pipeline will help vital industries continue operating within the UK, retaining jobs in their local communities and supporting them on the pathway to net zero.
