Peterhead carbon capture champion raises £50 million

The company leading plans to develop ambitious low carbon technologies in Peterhead has raised £51.3 million in its latest investment round, boosting its plans for the north-east of Scotland.

Storegga, which has four projects across the world including the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) site at St Fergus, welcomed Snam – Europe’s largest gas infrastructure company as a new backer as part of its third funding round.

Existing shareholders including Mitsui and Australian banking giant Macquarie Group also took place in the company’s latest fundraising.

The firm’s announcement of its latest funding boost came after it announced a green hydrogen project with ScottishPower and three of Scotland’s major distilleries: Glenmorangie, Whyte & Mackay and Diageo.

Chief executive Nick Cooper said the fresh round of investment would “accelerate” Storegga’s projects as international investors seek out low carbon investment projects.

“In the past two years, Storegga has grown from a developer of a cluster of Scotland-based decarbonisation projects into an international player. We are now active in projects in the UK, the US and Norway and are evaluating further decarbonisation opportunities.

“The UK’s advanced decarbonisation blueprint and its emerging carbon management chains are adaptable to other areas of the planet that are seeking high integrity, large-scale decarbonisation.

“International investment capital is searching for viable energy transition projects.

“Storegga’s ability to identify high-quality decarbonisation projects; engage with important influencers such as local governments and communities; and connect with development partners will be accelerated by this further investor support.

“Our model is realised by working with strategic investors that are fully aligned with our plans to reduce, remove and reverse harmful carbon from the atmosphere.”

Snam is Europe’s leasing operator in natural gas transport and storage. The firm operates a transport network of approximately 25,000 miles across Italy, Austria, France, Greece and the UK, and 3.5% of the world’s storage capacity.

Mr Cooper added: “It’s terrific to add Snam to this shareholder group. They are a leader in the energy transition with specialist experience in crucial areas such as gas transportation and hydrogen that support our mission.

“Climate change is an existential crisis that requires urgent action at scale. A big thank-you to all our valued shareholders for their continued support.”

Huge dismay met the UK government’s decision to snub the Scottish cluster in a £1bn funding competition last year which saw rival projects in “red wall” constituencies in the north of England awarded instead, leaving Storegga’s Acorn project as a so-called “reserve cluster”.

Mr Cooper recently issued a plea to the UK government to back its projects with its “firepower”.

INVESTORS: Storegga, which has four projects across the world, netted the sum in its latest funding round.

Storegga’s Nick Cooper.