Cement quite literally holds up our country. Virtually every hospital, school, bridge and home is built using cement. We can only achieve the renewal our nation needs, and the 1.5 million homes the Government has committed to build, if we have a thriving cement industry.
In places like Derbyshire, cement has been made for generations. It has sustained families, supported our local economies and made the Midlands one of the great industrial powerhouses.
However, cement also produces 7% of all global carbon emissions, more than are produced from shipping and aviation combined, and in the UK, cement produces more emissions than Birmingham.
At the same time, our cement industry is coming under increasing pressure. UK cement production is at its lowest levels since 1950, and imported cement is making up an increasing share of the market. Decarbonisation should never mean deindustrialisation, and unless we take action now, we risk losing high-skilled jobs across the Midlands and North of England, and an industry that is vital to our national and energy security.
Many innovative firms are pioneering new solutions. For example, Reclinker, formerly Cambridge Electric Cement, have developed a means of recycling used concrete back into cement, and Coolbrook is working to develop a heater that could replace the fuel used for burning with electric heating.
However, even if we reduce emissions from energy to zero, two-thirds of cement emissions are the by-product of the chemical process used to produce cement. This means that even if all these innovative developments succeed, the majority of cement emissions will remain unless we use carbon capture and storage.
To put it simply, without carbon capture and storage, we either have to stop producing cement or we fail to decarbonise; neither is an option we can afford.
This is why Peak Cluster is so important. Based in the Hope Valley, it is the world’s largest cement decarbonisation project, with the potential to decarbonise 40% of the UK’s cement and lime production.
Peak Cluster would also deliver major economic benefits, support over 13,000 jobs, attract £5 billion of private investment and remove 3 million tonnes of CO2 each year, equivalent to a quarter of all the emissions created in Derbyshire and Staffordshire.
In July, the National Wealth Fund announced that it would make a historic investment of £28.6 million into Peak Cluster, showing how the National Wealth Fund can help crowd in private investment and create the good, clean jobs of the future.
Although the investment from the National Wealth Fund is hugely welcome, it is only the start.
For this project to reach a final investment decision and unlock billions in private capital, industry needs one thing above all: certainty.
At present, there is no clear route to market for carbon capture and storage projects beyond the Track-1 and Track-2 clusters. Without a defined framework for such projects, private investors are left in limbo, and that risks stalling progress just when momentum is building.
During my adjournment debate on the decarbonisation of cement, I encouraged the Minister to establish a clear route to market for these projects, and I was grateful that he committed to having further conversations with Peak Cluster to help ensure that the project comes to fruition.
The sooner a route to market is established for projects like Peak Cluster, the sooner businesses will have the certainty to invest, and the sooner all of us can benefit from the growth that such investments will deliver.
Builders must also be incentivised to use this cleaner, greener cement, and this will only be achieved if there are clear incentives to do so. The carbon released from the production and use of construction materials is known as embodied carbon, and during my debate, I encouraged the Government to introduce mandatory embodied carbon reporting, as is being done by the EU. Ultimately, low-carbon technologies need sufficient demand to develop at scale, and this demand can only be achieved if builders are required to use these low-carbon materials.
By taking action now, we can safeguard our historic industries, protect high-skilled jobs and deliver a more sustainable world. If we do not invest, we will kick this can down the road and allow other countries to move ahead of us.
So, I urge the Government, keep investing, develop a clear pathway for carbon capture and storage projects outside of Track-1 and Track-2, and bring in regulations that will create sufficient demand for these emerging low-carbon technologies.
Only with continued investment and a clear pathway to capture and store carbon from cement production will we hit net zero
