Companies are still waiting to hear full details from the UK govenment on how it intends to provide £1bn in funding for CCS projects, as promised in the spending review.

Eon recently announced that the uncertain economic conditions meant it would pull out of its plans to build a coal-fired CCS plant at Kingsnorth. Meanwhile, industry leaders have warned that providing the financing only by guaranteeing a floor to the carbon price would not be enough incentive for companies to build the expensive plants.

So the news that the European Commission will announce a “prize” to fund CCS and renewables projects will be very welcome for some.