In a world where carbon reduction is now essential, manufacturers face a challenge - how to cut CO₂ emissions from processes that don’t respond to typical reduction strategies?
The production of many goods, from plastic and cardboard to paper, utilises carbon-intensive processes, while generating secondary emissions in their packaging and delivery.
At CFP Energy, we support manufacturers through complex energy transitions. To see how we can abate your emissions to meet your carbon compliance volumes and make changes to support UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS), contact our carbon team today.
How Does Carbon Capture Work?
Carbon capture plays a key role in reducing emissions in manufacturing that otherwise prove difficult to address. The process works by separating carbon dioxide from other gases released during industrial production, such as glass or cement production.
Some types of carbon capture technology use chemicals that extract CO₂, while others use filters to separate the CO₂ based on neighbouring gases. After the CO₂ is captured, it’s then moved to underground storage facilities where it can be stored for later use in industrial applications.
Where Can Carbon Capture Be Used?
CCS works best at large facilities with stable, high-volume emissions. These conditions support the efficiency of capture technology. Cement plants are one example, as they always release CO₂ during limestone processing, which can be utilised later.
Steelmaking, due to its carbon-intensive output, is another key area where carbon capture can be used. This is because steelmaking relies on carbon-based reactions that burn organic waste and can also benefit from capture systems.
Exploring Carbon Capture and Storage
International agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and International Energy Agency’s (IEA), promote the use of carbon capture, especially in sectors where carbonisation is otherwise difficult or impossible to remove.
By harnessing existing emissions, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) allows manufacturers to target their carbon footprint, without sacrificing output and still being able to meet demand.
However, in practice, capture systems like these can be energy hungry, sometimes leading to an increase in a company’s electricity use. Adoption of CCS, therefore, should result from an extensive period of internal monitoring and analysis.
To see how the ETS is currently affecting manufacturing, and what industry leaders can do to prepare for the coming reforms, please download our guide - Decarbonising the Future - below.
The Role of CCS/CCUS in the UK's Net Zero Plan
The UK’s Net Zero plan includes carbon capture and storage (CCS) as one tool among many. While the wider strategy focuses on renewables and energy efficiency, the plan sets out to support the establishment of two CCUS clusters by the mid-2020s and a further two by 2030, through which it aims to capture 20–30 MtCO₂ per year.
Moving forward, Track‑2 clusters (Acorn in Scotland and Viking in the Humber region) are planned for deployment between 2028 and 2030, while the government has also put together a CCUS Vision to transition to a fully competitive market by 2035.
Investments like this, once implemented, should not only tackle the climate crisis but also help drive the energy transition as market confidence in carbon capture technology increases.
CFP Energy & Industrial Decarbonisation Choices
Both CCS and CCUS will be an integral part of reducing carbon emissions in the future. By implementing carbon capture and storage technologies, hard-to-abate sectors, like large-scale manufacturers, will be one step further to reducing their climate impact, without impacting the efficiency of their day-to-day operations.
But combining solutions often brings better results than using one alone. A site may install solar panels and upgrade controls while using CCS for process emissions that can’t be avoided - using both strategies together, rather than carbon capture alone, to reduce a business’s carbon footprint through both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
At CFP Energy, our extensive experience in the manufacturing sector enables us to develop tailored, industry-specific strategies. Assessing your operational needs against current technological solutions, we put our expertise to helping you meet your carbon emission obligations, such as those outlined in the UK and EU ETS and the forthcoming UK ETS2.
Contact our carbon team to see how we can help today.
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