Pinsent Masons has won the Energy/Infrastructure Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards for legal work underpinning what is billed as the world’s first fully decarbonised cement plant. The firm advised on the complex commercial and regulatory arrangements for Heidelberg Materials UK’s Padeswood project, which aims to capture roughly 800,000 tonnes of CO2 a year for permanent storage beneath Liverpool Bay via the HyNet network.
Legal architecture for a pioneering industrial project
The recognition reflects the central role lawyers play in translating engineering ambition into deliverable contracts and regulatory compliance. Pinsent Masons’ team constructed and negotiated a multifaceted legal framework that covers an Industrial Carbon Capture Contract, grant funding agreements and interfaces with the emerging UK CCS Network Code — elements the industry needs if large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) is to move from pilot schemes to routine deployment.
The scheme at the Padeswood cement works in North Wales will enable production of evoZero, described as the world’s first carbon-captured net-zero cement. Project documents foresee captured CO2 being transported through the HyNet pipeline system to offshore storage, representing a step-change in efforts to decarbonise the cement sector — one of the hardest to abate due to process emissions from calcination as well as fuel use.
Team and continuing role
The winning core comprised partners and senior lawyers drawn from Pinsent Masons’ energy transition, projects, regulatory and infrastructure practices. The team lead was partner and energy transition specialist Stacey Collins, supported by partner Jeremy Chang, legal director Sheena Bryson, managing senior associate Remi Ahmed and associates Lizzi Leather and Marti Sikora. The firm said it continues to advise Heidelberg Materials as the project moves through construction towards commissioning and operation.
“It’s fantastic for our team to win such a prestigious award, in recognition of us being market-leaders in carbon capture & storage.”
The award underlines a broader industry challenge: developing standardised contractual and regulatory models so private investment can flow into decarbonisation projects at scale. Legal teams are increasingly tasked with creating templates that can be replicated across sectors, reducing transaction costs and legal uncertainty for future CCS developments.
- Project: Padeswood cement works, North Wales
- CO2 capture target: ~800,000 tonnes per year
- Product: evoZero, carbon-captured net-zero cement
- Transport and storage: HyNet pipeline to permanent storage beneath Liverpool Bay
Why the legal work matters
Technical engineering is only one barrier to industrial decarbonisation. Projects such as Padeswood require bespoke commercial arrangements between plant owners, pipeline operators, storage providers and funding bodies. They must also align with nascent sector codes and government funding terms. By negotiating the Industrial Carbon Capture Contract and associated funding deals, Pinsent Masons helped create a legal scaffolding that could be adapted for future projects.
Industry watchers say replicable legal frameworks are vital if the UK is to meet net-zero goals in sectors where emissions are intrinsic to production. Cement, along with steel and chemicals, accounts for a sizable portion of industrial emissions; projects that successfully deploy CCS could therefore play an outsized role in national decarbonisation trajectories.
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Capture volume | Approx. 800,000 tonnes CO2/year |
| End product | evoZero (net-zero cement) |
| Transport | HyNet pipeline |
| Storage | Offshore beneath Liverpool Bay |
The Legal Business Awards accolade is likely to raise the profile of Pinsent Masons’ energy transition practice and may encourage other corporate clients to seek similar legal support for CCS and related infrastructure. For policymakers and investors, the Padeswood example offers a test case of whether combined technical, legal and financing solutions can be scaled across the UK’s heavy industries.
As the project advances through construction, the next milestones will be commissioning and the onset of sustained commercial operations — stages that will test the robustness of the contractual and regulatory arrangements now in place. If successful, the Padeswood scheme will provide a template for decarbonising industrial processes that until now have been difficult to clean up.
