| | AUGUST 202519ENERGY INSIDER VIEWBy Marcos Matijasevich, Head of Low Carbon Transition, Essar Oil (UK)There is a lot to celebrate when it comes to delivering a net zero UK. Some would argue we could have done more, faster, but the changes that we see on a daily basis in terms of the circular economy, the rise of electric vehicles, and the vast development of wind farms demonstrate that progress is being made. It's important to maintain momentum, and this can be achieved by an enabling domestic policy environment and a competitive international market. Domestically, the UK Government's Ten Point Green Industrial Revolution Plan established the need for a growing low-carbon hydrogen economy and investment in carbon dioxide capture, storage, and utilisation (CCUS). Combined, these technologies are critical to decarbonise the industry and working synergistically as one enables the other. The production of low-carbon hydrogen using processes like steam methane reforming, autothermal reforming, or partial oxidation requires carbon capture, with the carbon dioxide being permanently sequestered in depleted oil/gas fields underground. The UK has an undeniable competitive advantage. It is practically surrounded by offshore depleting oil and gas fields along the Irish Sea and the North Sea. It is argued that government support for carbon capture gives oil and gas companies an inappropriate lifeline in a net zero world. Instead, carbon capture is supporting the re-purpose of existing assets and accelerating the journey to net zero at a much lower cost, utilising and adapting technologies that already exist today. In supporting such industries, society is supporting industries that generate tax revenue and a higher demand for high-skilled jobs, delivering social mobility in some of the UK's most deprived communities. Ultimately, the focus should be on the technologies that deliver net zero fastest and at a lower cost, delivering real value for money for governments. Companies like Essar Energy Transition (EET), part of the wider Essar Group, are committed to leading industrial decarbonisation. Owning and operating the Stanlow Refinery, a complex manufacturing facility producing 16% of the fuels consumed in the UK, the company has reduced its scope of greenhouse gas emissions by 22% since 2011. It is now leading the industry with a clear target to decarbonise manufacturing operations before the turn of the decade through a combination of carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency, low carbon hydrogen production, and fuel-switching to hydrogen. It is setting a global benchmark for high-emitting industries by developing the UK's first low-carbon refinery. EET Hydrogen will become the primary supplier of CCS-enabled low-carbon hydrogen, supporting the decarbonisation of our region's energy-intensive industries. The first CCS-enabled hydrogen plant has been selected as part of the DESNZ Track One cluster programme and is aiming to achieve its final investment decision (FID) in 2024. Overall, the company is investing in excess of $2.4Bn to transform the business into an energy transition hub providing the low-carbon energy vectors the market will need in the future.Significant investments like those being undertaken by Essar require the right policy environment. Business models WHAT SHOULD THE UK DO TO MAINTAIN THE MOMENTUM ACHIEVED AS A GLOBAL LEADER DELIVERING NET ZERO?It's important to maintain momentum and this can be achieved by an enabling domestic policy environment and a competitive international market
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