Proposals to transform Bacton Gas Terminal into a £1.3bn hydrogen gas and carbon capture hub are "very much part" of government plans, ministers insist - despite money heading to other projects.
The Labour government has announced it will pump almost £22bn over 25 years into three projects in Teesside and Merseyside, to capture carbon from hydrogen, gas power and energy from waste.
But, there was no mention of ambitions for north Norfolk's Bacton Gas Terminal, which Rishi Sunak visited last year, during his tenure as prime minister.
MPs and business leaders want Bacton to be transformed into a 'hydrogen hub', for production and distribution of 'blue hydrogen' - produced using North Sea natural gas for use as a fuel and to generate electricity.
They also want the site to become a centre for 'carbon capture', a technology for storing harmful CO2 emissions.
The 'blue hydrogen' process produces CO2, but this can be 'captured' and stored underground, to prevent harmful emissions. But critics argue it is still harmful and tied to fossil fuels.
The Merseyside HyNet project, which the government has earmarked money for, includes the UK's first large-scale blue hydrogen project at Ellesmere Port.
That is a similar project to what is proposed at Bacton - a point which Jerome Mayhew, Conservative MP for Broadland and Fakenham, made in Parliament.
He said: "I am pleased that there is an announcement on the funding of blue hydrogen at Ellesmere Port, but what about Bacton, the gas terminal in north Norfolk?
"What are the secretary of state’s plans to support blue hydrogen projects at Bacton, which would be ideally suited for the southern North Sea?"
Energy security secretary Ed Miliband said: "That is very much part of our plans for the future.
"This is just the start; we will have more to say in the coming months about carbon capture sites in Humberside, Scotland and elsewhere around the country."
Last summer Perenco – a privately owned oil and gas company – secured a UK license to inject carbon dioxide into depleted gas reservoirs off the Norfolk coast, to reduce carbon emissions.
Bacton Gas Terminal would play a key part in the carbon capture and storage process, receiving and processing carbon dioxide from onshore sources before transporting it to the offshore Leman gas fields, via a pipeline.
The terminal is not actually in Mr Mayhew's constituency, but in neighbouring North Norfolk, which is represented by Liberal Democrat Steffan Aquarone.
Kevin Keable, chair of the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR), which has represented energy businesses and the region for near 25 years, backed the Bacton ambitions.
He said: "The Bacton Gas Terminal has been operating for 55 years and has huge capability and potential for embracing new technologies.
"Shallow water pipelines could bring CO2 from Europe much more cheaply than to other European destinations.
"The pipeline infrastructure already exists which could possibly be used.
"Hydrogen can be manufactured there and used for marine, transport and agriculture.
"We have the facilities, supply chain, experienced engineering companies and personnel already in this region capable of building out this project."
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