The UK government and Italian energy company Eni are set to approve a 38-mile pipeline to collect carbon dioxide from industrial facilities in Liverpool and Manchester for offshore storage, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Both the parties will announce the pipeline approval on Thursday in London during a two-day energy security summit, the report said, citing two sources familiar with the project.
Eni and the UK government did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comments.
The energy company said in February that it would expand its low-carbon activities as part of its 2025-2028 strategy, creating a new company for its carbon capture and storage activities, and offering power for data centres.
Last year, Britain said it will provide funding of up to 21.7 billion pounds ($28.76 billion) over 25 years to develop carbon capture and storage projects to curb emissions from industry and create new jobs in northern England, as part of its climate target to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
(Reuters - Reporting by Janaki Venugopalan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)