Mark Sommerfeld will become the UK Director of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) from December, following Olivia Powis’ appointment as CEO in September.
He brings 13 years’ experience in the energy sector and will lead the CCSA’s work on the commercial deployment of large-scale integrated CCUS Clusters and projects across the UK.
During his time at The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), Sommerfeld supported the development of Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), working across biomass power, energy from waste and anaerobic digestion sectors, and brings considerable expertise to the CCSA.
He joins at a critical time for the CCUS industry, which is on the cusp of deploying projects in the UK.
The Government’s funding commitment in October for the first two CCUS clusters in the North West and North East of England will see CO2 emissions reduced from industrial processes, hydrogen and low carbon power generation.
These projects will create new and protect existing jobs in critical industries such as cement, chemicals and manufacturing.
The UK Government has confirmed that CCUS is essential to meeting Net Zero targets, and the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has recommended that the UK’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commits to reduce territorial greenhouse gas emissions by 81% from 1990 to 2035.
Both are important as governments and stakeholders head to Baku for COP29 to discuss emissions reduction.
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The CCSA has been working with the Government to secure the UK’s position as a world leader in CCUS and low carbon hydrogen production, and to meet the CCC’s target of 20-30 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2 captured and stored by 2030, rising to 50-60 Mt by 2035.
Sommerfeld said achieving Net Zero demands a comprehensive approach, including carbon capture and carbon removal technologies, alongside low-carbon generation.
“With recent Government commitments, the UK continues to lead carbon capture deployment,” he said. “Scaling this technology will drive decarbonisation across key industrial sectors while unlocking significant economic benefits.”
Powis said Sommerfeld brings considerable energy sector experience to bolster its team of experts, all of whom are committed to tackling climate change and seeing CCUS developed at pace to decarbonise British industries. Turn to page 52 to read an exclusive interview with the CEO in this month’s magazine.
“With the UK CCUS industry at an exciting point in its development, Mark will no doubt have a significant impact on the CCSA’s important work supporting our members to rollout this important Net Zero transition technology.”
Carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technologies are facing a policy vacuum in the UK, despite their economic potential and role in achieving Net Zero emissions. This disparity between promise and policy was highlighted in a recent gasworld webinar by Despoina Tsimprikidou, Policy Officer at the CCSA.
“There is one thing that clearly stands out from the narrative so far, and that is the lack of clear targets and ambitions for CCU in public policy currently,” Despoina revealed, indicating a major gap in the country’s decarbonisation strategy. Click here to watch on catch up.
