Acorn carbon capture project ‘in serious trouble’ as UK Government cuts support

Campaigners say the UK Government has weakened its support for the Acorn project and that there should be “no more blank cheques” for the scheme.  

It is unclear how much more public money the carbon capture scheme would receive after a series of conflicting and confusing statements from senior politicians.  

The UK Budget yesterday appeared to remove the £200million handout to Acorn pledged by Ed Miliband in June 2025. The UK Government has not disclosed how much of that money has ever been transferred to the project.    

The Acorn project is years behind its original schedule and its lead developer Storegga announced it was quitting the project in December 2025. They have not been able to find a replacement stakeholder.  

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander also cast doubt on the project yesterday saying there were “significant challenges in relation to Acorn, both in relation to the market readiness of the technology and in relation to the commercial arrangements around the project”.   

UK Minister for Local Energy and Jobs Martin McCluskey then wrote the Scottish Government to say there was funding to the end of this year but highlighted that taxpayers need to see a return for public investment and that future support would be “subject to a business case.”  

Climate campaigners said Acorn should “not get a penny” of public funding when its part owner Shell posted £8 billion profits for the last quarter. Shell’s daily profits were over £89million for the past three months, meaning it could pay for the Acorn project in about 54 hours. 

 Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Caroline Rance said: 

 “Carbon capture has failed everywhere it has been tried at scale and the Acorn project is in serious trouble. The UK Government clearly has major doubts and is rightly indicating that there are no more blank cheques for it. 

“The confused mess around funding exemplifies the repeated delays and failures of the so-called carbon capture industry. Acorn has not stored a gram of carbon, refuses to share details of its job claims and risks prolonging fossil fuel burning in Scotland.   

“Acorn is scrambling around for a new investor so it desperately needs to try and present a positive image.  

“No amount of public money can make this pig fly. This fantasy should never have been peddled to oil workers, who instead need a credible plan for support and retraining that can move them into truly green jobs.”  

“The UK Government should not be giving this project a penny when one of its main stakeholders is posting obscene profits. Oil giant Shell is making billions whilst destroying our climate and the public is on the hook for this greenwashing scheme. It would take Shell 54 hours to earn the £200million the public has to cough up for Acorn.   

“The choice for Ministers is to continue burning expensive, dangerous fossil fuels or to embrace renewables that can bring down bills, improve lives and deliver wider public benefits.”