Leading companies from across the North-East have joined forces this morning to submit an ambitious bid that could support more than 25,000 jobs a year tackling carbon emissions.

The Northern Endurance Partnership has submitted a bid to the Government for carbon capture, usage and storage, known as CCUS.

The bid is on behalf of the East Coast Cluster, a collaboration between Teesside and the Humber which account for nearly 50% of all UK industrial cluster emissions.

By decarbonising such a substantial part of the country’s industrial heartlands, the project aims to play a major role in levelling up across the country, with the potential to support an average of more than 25,000 jobs a year between 2023 and 2050.

The East Coast Cluster offers a mix of low-carbon projects, including industrial carbon capture, low-carbon hydrogen production, negative emissions power, and power with carbon capture. The companies in the East Coast Cluster have extensive experience in successfully delivering ambitious and world-leading projects and by joining forces the cluster bid aims to streamline the bidding process and show that the two regions are already working together.

Partly funded by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, NEP is developing the offshore infrastructure that will transport CO2 from industries in these regions, most of which are Net Zero Teesside and Zero Carbon Humber projects, to secure offshore storage in the North Sea.

In the Queen’s Speech in May 2021, the Government emphasised the importance of levelling-up the UK’s regions. Taking the East Coast Cluster forward is an opportunity, to protect many thousands of existing jobs across Teesside and the Humber, creating thousands of new STEM-based jobs and underpinning new low carbon industries in the north of England.

Andy Lane, Managing Director of the NEP, said: "The UK needs to decarbonise industry to reach net zero. Nearly half of all carbon emissions from UK industrial clusters come from the Humber and Teesside, making the East Coast Cluster the single biggest opportunity.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, added: “The success of this project is not only crucial for achieving net zero, but also a way of ensuring good-quality, well-paid jobs are supported across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool for generations to come.”

“The Net Zero Teesside project, which is joining other clean energy initiatives at Teesworks, will position our region as a leader in innovation and the sector. I’m pleased that we can work with our neighbours in the Humber to deliver an even more positive impact for the whole UK.”

Emma Hardy, MP for Hull West and Hessle, said: "The collaboration between the Humber and Teesside in the East Coast Cluster will future-proof both industrial regions, tackle half of the UK’s cluster emissions, and create new high-skill, low-carbon jobs for our people.”