The government has pledged almost £22bn to launch the UK's first carbon capture sites, which are set to bring thousands of new skilled jobs, billions in private investment and support acceleration to net zero.

The UK will be among the first to deploy this technology at scale in Teesside and Merseyside – capturing CO2 emissions before they reach the atmosphere and storing them safely beneath the seabed.

The government says the projects will create thousands of jobs - directly creating 4,000 jobs and supporting 50,000 jobs in the long-term.

They will also attract £8bn of private investment and accelerate the UK towards net zero in 2050

Prime minister Keir Starmer said the investment was “reigniting our industrial heartlands by investing in the industry of the future”.

Up to £21.7bn of funding is available, over 25 years, to make the UK an early leader in two growing global sectors, CCUS and hydrogen, to be allocated between these two clusters.

The £4bn Net Zero Teesside Power project (NZT Power), a joint venture between bp and Equinor, aims to be one of the world’s first commercial scale gas-fired power stations with carbon capture.

The Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) aims to build the CO2 transportation and storage infrastructure to serve East Coast Cluster carbon capture projects.

First commercial operations are expected from 2027.

NZT Power could generate up to 860 megawatts of power - equivalent to the average electricity requirements of around 1.3 million UK homes.

Up to two million tonnes of CO2 per year would be captured at the plant, and then transported and securely stored by the NEP in subsea storage sites beneath the North Sea.

The project could create and support more than 3,000 construction jobs and then require around 1,000 jobs annually during operations until 2050.

Louise Kingham, SVP Europe and head of country, UK for bp, said: “This announcement represents another step forward for the Northern Endurance Partnership and East Coast Cluster.

“Major projects like these have the potential to help stimulate economic growth – supporting thousands of jobs, helping UK companies prosper through the vast supply chains involved and creating the infrastructure to help major industrial companies with their decarbonisation plans.

“Collaboration is key in helping to progress and deliver the energy transition in the UK, and we look forward to continuing to work alongside the government and our partners to move these innovative projects forward.”

On Merseyside HyNet is a low carbon cluster which will implement carbon capture and storage and low carbon hydrogen infrastructure at large scale, enabling industry to decarbonise.

Delivering HyNet will secure £5bn of private sector capital to enable re-industrialisation of the region, allow companies to successfully compete in international low carbon markets and attract new industries to the UK.

HyNet will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by industry by up to 10 million tonnes every year – the equivalent to removing four million cars from the road.

David Parkin, chair of the HyNet Alliance said: “HyNet was formed to meet the demands of industry wanting to decarbonise to deliver sustainable products and compete in the global low carbon economy.

“We need to decarbonise, not by de-industrialising, but by investing in the industries of the future that we rely on for the everyday products in our lives - from the glass bottles we use for our food and drink to the cement we use to build roads and buildings.

“Government’s commitment to HyNet will also enable generation of resilient low carbon power, right here in the industrial North West and North Wales, supporting its Clean Power 2030 Mission.

“This will create new roles and safeguard existing jobs, attracting investment and catalysing growth.”

Olivia Powis, CEO of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA), added: “The government’s confirmed support for carbon capture and storage and hydrogen demonstrates their commitment to the UK’s journey to net zero.

“Today’s announcement shows that decarbonisation does not mean de-industrialisation, and highlights the UK’s leadership in these important technologies.

“The industry has made significant strides towards deploying carbon capture projects and by establishing the first 2 CCUS clusters in the North West and North East of England, it means that we can deliver thousands of new highly skilled jobs whilst reducing our CO2 emissions and retaining existing jobs in our industrial areas in critical industries like cement and manufacturing across the UK.”

The carbon capture, usage and storage industry is expected to support 50,000 good, skilled jobs as the sector matures in the 2030s, helping to support the oil and gas sector’s transition away from high emission fossil fuels by using the transferable expertise of their workforce.

The government says up and running carbon capture industry is expected to add around £5bn per year to the UK economy by 2050.