FAQs

As part of the Liverpool Bay Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) Transport and Storage (T&S) Project, three Spur Pipeline Proposed Developments will transport CO₂ from carbon capture plants in the north west of England and north Wales to the Main Onshore Pipeline. From here the captured CO₂ will be safely transported to storage facilities beneath the seabed in Liverpool Bay.

CO₂ emissions from the industry cluster across the north west of England and north Wales need to be transported safely to the CCS storage sites underneath Liverpool Bay. It is important that we transfer the captured CO₂ to the storage sites in a safe and reliable way. This requires substantial infrastructure that can safely contain CO₂ and withstand the environment in which it is placed.

To transport the CO₂ captured from industrial emitters across the region, the spur pipelines are required to connect these capture plants within the wider HyNet Industrial Decarbonisation Cluster to the Main Onshore Pipeline. To achieve this, three spur pipelines will be required which will connect capture plants into the Above Ground Installations (AGIs) located on the Main Onshore Pipeline and consented within the HyNet Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Development Consent Order (DCO).

These additional spur pipelines were not considered within the application for the Main Onshore Pipeline and have been considered for planning permission separately under the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) 1990 (as amended).

These three Spur Pipeline Proposed Developments are:

1. The Protos (West AGI) Spur Pipeline Proposed Development connects the Encyclis Protos ERF to the Ince AGI.
2. The Runcorn Spur Pipeline Proposed Development connects the Viridor Energy from Waste facility to the Ince AGI.
3. The Padeswood Spur Pipeline Proposed Development connects the Heidelberg Materials UK cement works at Padeswood to the Northop Hall AGI.

The Main Onshore Pipeline, which was granted development consent in March 2024, will run from Ince in the north west of England to join with an existing pipeline just outside Flint in North Wales. To transport the CO₂ captured from industrial emitters to the storage sites up to 1km under the seabed in Liverpool Bay, the Spur Pipeline Proposed Developments are required to connect these emitters to the main HyNet Carbon Dioxide Pipeline (known as the Main Onshore Pipeline). To achieve this, three spur pipelines will connect industrial capture plants into the AGIs located on the HyNet Carbon Dioxide Pipeline.

You can read more information on the Liverpool Bay CO₂ Transportation and Storage T&S) Project here.

Detailed information on the applications and updates on our progress can be found on our website www.hynethub.co.uk/spurpipelines. You may also like to receive our regular newsletter, which features the latest information on the Spur Pipeline Proposed Developments and our other projects. Sign up for the newsletter by clicking the ‘Sign-up’ button at the bottom of our website homepage here.

As the projects develop, we will add further information to the HyNet Hub. We are committed to making project information accessible to all users. If you have any specific project questions, or suggestions regarding the accessibility of this site, please email us on hello@hynethub.co.uk.

If you have any questions or comments, please email us on hello@hynethub.co.uk or call us at 0113 395 4495 (Monday to Friday between 9am to 5pm, except bank holidays).

Each of the Spur Pipeline Proposed Developments are seeking planning permission under the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) 1990 (as amended). Liverpool Bay CCS Limited (LBCCS) are the applicant.

Specifically:

• To gain consent to build the Protos (West AGI) Spur Pipeline Proposed Development, LBCCS submitted a planning application to Cheshire West and Chester Council (reference 25/00952/FUL) in March 2025. This is in place of the previous planning application that was submitted for Protos (East AGI) Spur Pipeline Proposed Development in March 2024 (reference: 24/00777/ FUL). The Protos (West AGI) application was approved by the CWCC Planning Committee in August 2025.

• To gain consent to build the Runcorn Spur Pipeline Proposed Development, LBCCS submitted planning applications to Cheshire West and Chester Council and Halton Borough Council in July 2025.
  
  Cheshire West and Chester Council reference: 25/020108/FUL;
  
  Halton Borough Council reference: 25/00293/FULEIA.

• To gain consent to build the Padeswood Spur Pipeline Proposed Development, LBCCS submitted a planning application to Flintshire County Council (FCC) (reference: FUL/000526/25) in June 2025. This application was approved by the FCC Planning Committee in October 2025.

Once the planning applications were submitted for each Spur Pipeline Proposed Development, the relevant Councils for each spur pipeline undertook a period of statutory consultation with stakeholders. The Councils then considered the applications and feedback received before making a recommendation to ‘Grant’ or ‘Refuse’ the applications. Then the recommendation is considered by the respective Councils’ planning committees, who make the final decision.

The Protos and Padeswood Spur Pipeline applications have been approved by the Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWCC) and Flintshire County Council (FCC) Planning Committees respectively. Now we will work with the Councils to meet planning conditions as part of the planning approvals.

The Runcorn Spur Pipeline applications are being considered by planning officers before a recommendation is made the to the CWCC and Halton Borough Council (HBC) Planning Committees.

Other parts of the infrastructure that serves the wider HyNet Industrial Decarbonisation Cluster is being developed by other parties and are going through separate planning applications and consenting processes. You can find out about the other projects at https://hynet.co.uk.

This includes;

• the Viridor Carbon Capture Plant at the Energy from Waste facility in Runcorn. You can contact Viridor at info@runcornccs.com or find more information on the project website https://runcornccs.com/.
• The Heidelberg Carbon Capture Plant at the cement works in Padeswood, which was granted consent By Welsh Ministers in April 2025. More information can be found at https://www.padeswoodccs.co.uk/en and you can contact the Heidelberg Materials UK team at padeswoodccs@uk.heidelbergmaterials.com.

Please see below the public consultation periods for each of the spur pipelines:

• Protos (West AGI) Spur Pipeline Proposed Development: consultation was carried out from 2 January to 14 February 2025.
• Runcorn Spur Pipeline Proposed Development: consultation took place between 13 March to 10 April 2025.
• Padeswood Spur Pipeline Proposed Development: Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) ran from 26 March to 29 April 2025.

Liverpool Bay CCS Limited (LBCCS) has documented the feedback we received from local people and stakeholders during the consultation periods for each Spur Pipeline Proposed Development. A summary of the feedback and how it was taken into account for the final planning applications is available in a statement of community involvement (SoCI) for the Protos (West AGI) and Runcorn Spur Pipeline Proposed Developments and a Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) report for the Padeswood Spur Pipeline Proposed Development. documents are available to view with the respective planning applications.

You can review the proposals, planning application and documents, including how we listened to your feedback, by visiting the planning portals of the relevant councils:

• Protos (West AGI) Spur Pipeline Proposed Development: visit the Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Public Access System and search the reference: 25/00952/FUL.
• Runcorn Spur Pipeline Proposed Development: go to the Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Public Access System and search the reference: 25/020108/FUL or Halton Borough Council Public Access System and search the reference: 25/00293/FULEIA
• Padeswood Spur Pipeline Proposed Development: access Flintshire County Council’s Planning Portal and use the application reference: FUL/000526/25.

You can also read the detailed proposals on the HyNet Hub Spur Pipelines pages for the Protos, Runcorn and Padeswood Spur Pipeline Proposed Developments.

Liverpool Bay CCS Limited (LBCCS) will minimise disruption as much as possible. We will work closely with both the relevant local planning authorities to agree hours of work during construction, and with the highway authorities to ensure the safety of road users. Some locations where trenchless crossings are being carried out will require working 24 hours a day, but this will be for short periods.

We have a dedicated landowner engagement team and work is underway to engage with landowners potentially impacted by the Spur Pipeline Proposed Developments.

A key activity in commencing the design for the Spur Pipeline Proposed Developments is undertaking a variety of surveys across all potential spur pipeline routes. To do this, we need access to land within the proposed area. We began conversations early in 2024 with landowners and occupiers to explain the project and request permission for access to carry out these surveys.

There will be some pieces of land that will be required to host sections of spur pipelines to successfully deliver the Spur Pipeline Proposed Developments. We are working to reach voluntary land agreements with owners of identified land within these defined areas.

Our timeline for delivery relies entirely on consent to develop the Spur Pipeline Proposed Developments from the local authorities. The application process is complicated, and we have engaged with stakeholders and local communities as we prepared our applications.

Should consent be granted, we intend to begin construction straight away – and anticipate this to be between 2026 and 2028. We do not yet know how long this will take, as it is dependent on the specific design we progress, although we will keep local communities informed throughout the process.

Subject to approvals from the UK Government’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), it is expected that from 2027, Liverpool Bay CCS Limited’s (LBCCS) carbon dioxide (CO₂) Transportation and Storage (T&S) Project to serve the HyNet Industrial Decarbonisation Cluster will have a capacity of 4.5 million tonnes of CO₂ per year in the first phase, with the potential to increase up to 10 million tonnes of CO₂ per year after 2030.

The proposed spur pipelines are designed and will be operated and maintained in compliance with well-established standards and industry best practices, which together with detailed safety assessments will ensure the potential for any leakage of CO₂ is minimised and risks are As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP). The pipeline network will be fitted with leak detection systems and in the event of any leakage the pipeline can be safely shut in.

Liverpool Bay CCS Limited (LBCCS) is actively engaging with the UK Health and Safety Executive (the UK Safety Regulator for pipelines) to ensure that the pipeline development and its operation are compliant with all relevant regulations and guidance.

Gas has remained safely trapped in geological structures such as sandstone reservoirs, like the ones in Liverpool Bay, for millions of years. These reservoirs are deep below the surface of the seabed. The Liverpool Bay CO₂ store will be up to 1km below the seabed and approximately 20 miles offshore. Hundreds of metres of shale lie over the top of these sandstone reservoirs, making an impermeable layer which traps the gas in place. The CO₂ will be stored in the same way as the original natural gas. It will remain safely contained in the sandstone reservoirs.