• £59.6M investment will fund the CO₂ transport pipeline to decarbonize the UK’s largest group of cement and lime plants, responsible for 40% of domestic production.
• Pipeline to transport 3 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, supporting the UK’s CCS goal of 50 million tonnes captured per year by 2035.
• 13,000 jobs safeguarded or created, with captured CO₂ stored offshore through the Morecambe Net Zero project.

Sumitomo Corporation, through its UK subsidiary Summit Energy Evolution Limited (SEEL), is investing in the development of a new CO₂ transport pipeline to serve Peak Cluster, a major carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the UK. The initiative targets the decarbonization of four cement and lime plants that together produce 40% of the UK’s cement and lime output—critical materials for construction, manufacturing, and environmental sectors.

“This project supports our Energy Transformation strategy and underscores our commitment to advancing decarbonization across hard-to-abate sectors,” said Shingo Ueno, President and CEO of Sumitomo Corporation.

Since 2022, UK-based low-carbon energy developer Progressive Energy has led the project, working with cement manufacturers Tarmac, Breedon, SigmaRoc, and Holcim through the pre-FEED phase. SEEL, via joint venture Progressive Energy Peak Limited (PEPL), will now provide equity investment in Peak Cluster Limited (PCL), the entity responsible for the CO₂ pipeline. The UK’s National Wealth Fund is also contributing to the funding round.

The £59.6 million ($76.3 million) investment will support the project through to Final Investment Decision (FID), targeted for 2028. This includes completing Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED), advancing regulatory approvals, and securing environmental consents.

RELATED ARTICLE: Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation Updates Material Issues and Climate Policies for Sustainable Growth

“Cement and lime are among the hardest sectors to decarbonize due to unavoidable process emissions. CCS is not optional—it’s essential,” said a spokesperson for Progressive Energy.

The project’s onshore buried pipeline will transport CO₂ emissions to the coast, where they will be injected for permanent storage beneath the East Irish Sea via Spirit Energy’s Morecambe Net Zero (MNZ) storage facility. The full CCS network is expected to secure and generate 13,000 jobs across the industrial value chain, including storage operations.

The UK government aims to capture 50 million tonnes of CO₂ annually by 2035, and the Peak Cluster pipeline will contribute 3 million tonnes per year toward that target.

“The Peak Cluster will not only enable deep decarbonization of our plants but also ensure industrial resilience in the region,” stated representatives from the participating manufacturers.

Sumitomo brings decades of experience to the project, stemming from its upstream oil and gas ventures since the 1970s. In 2023, it acquired two carbon storage licenses in the UK. The company sees this project as foundational for scaling CO₂ transport and storage solutions into other global markets.

“The CO₂ transport sector presents complex commercial and technical challenges,” the company stated. “We will leverage our global CCS experience and steel pipeline expertise to commercialize and expand this business to the Americas and Asia-Pacific.”

This marks a strategic milestone for Sumitomo’s Medium-Term Management Plan, with carbon storage as a central pillar of its Energy Transformation efforts.

Follow ESG News on LinkedIn