MPA says cement carbon capture is critical to delivering UK infrastructure within carbon budgets

Cement carbon capture will be critical to delivering the UK’s infrastructure ambitions without breaching legally binding carbon budgets, according to new analysis from the MPA, which warns that emissions limits risk hindering delivery if action is delayed.

The MPA’s analysis shows that carbon capture, usage, and storage (CCUS) in cement manufacturing could reduce the sector’s emissions by 75% by 2035, cutting construction emissions by up to 3.8 million tpy of CO₂.

The organisation says this reduction would create the carbon headroom needed to deliver major housing, transport, energy and digital projects at scale within the UK’s emissions limits.

As a main ingredient in concrete, the most used construction material in the world, cement is vital for delivering the UK’s building ambitions. With demand for cement and concrete running to millions of t, the MPA cautions that construction emissions will place growing pressure on the construction industry’s contribution to the UK’s carbon budgets without carbon capture.

Within the constraints of the carbon budgets, if the UK doesn’t develop carbon capture, it would need to rely more heavily on imports to meet demand for cement. Likely sources include countries with much weaker environmental and employment regulations, and therefore, higher carbon intensity cement. Emissions would be increased and offshored, rather than captured, leading to decarbonisation by deindustrialisation. This would also leave the UK more exposed to volatile global supply chains.

By enabling and supporting a decarbonised domestic cement industry, carbon capture reduces both the risk of carbon budgets constraining delivery and the UK’s growing dependence on imported materials.

Data from the MPA demonstrates the scale of the potential impact. The savings created by cement carbon capture for the delivery of the Government’s 1.5 million homes target could reach over 5.5 million t of CO₂, while emissions associated with the construction of a single hyperscale data centre could fall by up to 19 400 t. For the delivery of 50 floating offshore wind foundations, savings could reach 58 200 t.

The analysis is based on cement CCUS projects at Padeswood in North Wales and the Peak Cluster in Derbyshire becoming operational by 2035. Together, these projects would significantly lower the carbon intensity of UK cement production, reducing average emissions per tonne by three-quarters and enabling the sector to support infrastructure delivery within the UK’s carbon budgets.

The UK concrete and cement sector has already cut its emissions by 63% since 1990, decarbonising faster than the economy as a whole, but carbon capture is vital for the industry to reach net zero. The Climate Change Committee has previously recognised that carbon capture is a ‘necessity, not an option’ for cement, due to the emissions created by the chemical reaction needed to make cement.

Martin Casey, senior director for cement and lime at the Mineral Products Association, said:

“Carbon budgets are becoming real delivery constraints, not abstract targets. The risk now is not a lack of ambition, but a lack of pace.

“If we want to deliver the homes, energy and digital infrastructure the country needs, we must remove carbon as a limiting factor from construction. Cement carbon capture does that – but only if projects move quickly from commitment to investment to spades in the ground.

“Emissions don’t wait for funding decisions to catch up, and the cost of delays will be felt in the UK’s carbon budgets if construction projects use imported carbon-intensive materials to meet demand. Acting now will keep investment, jobs and emissions reductions here in the UK.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/26052026/mpa-says-cement-carbon-capture-is-critical-to-delivering-uk-infrastructure-within-carbon-budgets/