New independent specialist CCS player bringing US learnings to the UK

Azuli International (Azuli), an independent specialist carbon capture and storage (CCS) development company, has been launched in the United Kingdom. The company’s purpose is to support the vital drive to decarbonisation in OECD nations and beyond, within a shared net zero imperative. 

Azuli has been formed by the management team that successfully set up and launched Lapis Energy (Lapis) in the US – securing leading positions in investable opportunities in the Lower 48 in its first year of operation.  Azuli, armed with the experience and lessons learned from Lapis, brings to market an attractive portfolio of global CCS opportunities in Australia, the UK, Continental Europe and the US.  Azuli has offices in London, Houston and Perth, West Australia.  

The Azuli leadership team brings together decades of experience in CCS and clean Hydrogen in the UK and EU with practical expertise developing integrated source to sink projects in the US. 

CEO Hamish Wilson said: “The introduction of commercially investable levels of ‘carbon pricing’ under the 45Q tax credit system, (recently amended to $85/ton under the Inflation Reduction Act) in the US has brought an incredible impetus and dynamism to the CCS market which hopefully will act as a beacon and proof point for global policy makers”. 

Wilson continued: “Azuli will continue to originate and develop project opportunities in the US – particularly those based around decarbonised energy ‘hubs’.  We are also excited to export and apply our leading opportunity identification and project definition experience to accelerate affordable CCS projects in the UK, EU and Asia Pacific.  With no vested interests in the oil and gas business we believe that we can focus entirely on delivering commercially viable decarbonisation solutions for both industry and governments.”

CCS is a core strand of energy transition, with a recent McKinsey study anticipating that the scale of investment growth in CCS is some US$150 billion per year to enable industrialised nations to play their particular role in achieving declared net zero goals.