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CCUS Innovation Programme: selected projects

Updated 5 February 2020

Negative CO2 emissions from full scale BECCS utilising non-amine CCS chemistry

Led by C-Capture

C-Capture, the designer of world-leading and innovative chemical processes for carbon dioxide removal, alongside the Drax Group, will progress its bioenergy and carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire. It will further develop its understanding of how the technology it has developed can be scaled up, to enable Drax to become the world’s first negative emissions power station in the 2020s – effectively removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from atmosphere at the same time as electricity is being produced. The work being undertaken over the next 2 years includes:

• an extension of C-Capture’s existing pilot facilities at Drax
• plant performance and optimisation trials
• a chemistry validation and testing programme with research partners SINTEF and the CO2 Technology Centre Mongstad (in Norway)
• process design development to move towards commercial scale deployment, including re-purposing the existing Drax infrastructure

ACORN CCS – FEED Programme

Led by Pale Blue Dot Energy

Acorn is a full chain CCS project in north east Scotland. Being an infrastructure and storage resource led project, it is specifically designed to make best use of the UK’s built and natural assets and initiate CCS in the UK at lowest cost.  This is achieved through access to key offshore gas pipelines that are both available now and suitable for reuse for CO2 transport.  In addition, around one third of the UKCS storage resource lies within this pipeline corridor including access to the world class, well understood and licensed Acorn CO2 storage site.  Acorn CCS takes full advantage of this to use a small initial inventory to commission large scale CO2 transport and storage infrastructure that can support future industrial decarbonisation in Scotland, the UK and around the North Sea Basin.  

The BEIS CCUS funding is progressing the detailed engineering for this project towards a final investment decision in 2021. 

Integration of CCUS technology to a 200MW OCGT TiGRE Project located in the UK Southern North Sea

Led by TiGRE Technologies

The TiGRE Group presents potential for the lowest cost option to capture and sequester carbon. TiGRE™ is the trademark for the Transition to integrated Gas and Renewable Energy concept residing with the TiGRE Group. TiGRE™ projects under development by the TiGRE Group provide the unique opportunity to assess the feasibility of integrating conventional best-practice carbon capture and sequestration technology into a real-life production facility.

Translational Energy Research Centre (PACT-2)

Led by University of Sheffield / Pilot-Scale Advanced Capture Technology (PACT)

Funded by BEIS and European Regional Development Fund this project establishes a scale of world class research infrastructure that supports the long term competitiveness and international reputation of the UK in CCUS. The centre’s state-of-the-art facilities will enable UK companies to develop, de-risk, and accelerate their innovations under realistic operating conditions. It will bridge the gap between fundamental research and pilot-scale demonstrations, whilst providing a training ground for the next generation of researchers.

The centre is also a channel to international collaboration through its engagement with the International Test Centre Network (ITCN), whose membership spans Norway, Canada, Australia, China, Japan and South Korea, the International Flame Research Foundation (IFRF), whose membership includes over 100 international industrial and research organisations, and the European CCS Experimental Laboratories (ECCSEL).

HyNet Phase 1: Industrial CCS

Led by Progressive Energy

HyNet is an integrated Hydrogen / CCUS project to decarbonise the North West industrial cluster. Phase 1 of this ambitious but deliverable project is to develop the CCUS infrastructure to capture CO2 emissions from industry and store them in the Liverpool Bay depleted gas fields. The HyNet project consortium of Progressive Energy, Essar Oil UK, CF Fertilisers, Peel, Cadent and the University of Chester are undertaking the ‘pre-FEED’ study which will confirm technical viability of the project, mitigate engineering risks, and provide robust cost estimates for subsequent project development. HyNet will also subsequently produce hydrogen as a fuel for both heating, power and transport, and development of the hydrogen production and distribution elements of the project are being undertaken in parallel with the CCUS activities.

Clean Gas Project & Tees Valley cluster Development Select Phase

Led by OGCI Climate Investments

OGCI Climate Investments has entered into a strategic partnership with BP, ENI, Equinor, Occidental Petroleum, Shell and Total to progress the Clean Gas Project, the UK’s first commercial full-chain Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) project in Teesside. This feasibility study is an important milestone in building the world’s first commercial CCUS project for a gas-fired power plant.  The Clean Gas Project could form the heart of the Tees Valley CCUS Cluster that will deploy CCUS at scale.

The Clean Gas Project will use natural gas to generate power, with CO2 then captured and transported by pipeline for storage in a geological formation deep under the Southern North Sea. The infrastructure created would enable industrial emitters in Teesside and elsewhere to capture and store CO2 from their processes.

The BEIS Innovation Funding will support the technical and commercial progression of the Clean Gas Project on to the next stage of development. As the project reaches this important phase, it becomes the anchor project for a decarbonised industrial cluster in Tees Valley.

Allam-Fetvedt Cycle Power Plant for UK Deployment

Led by 8 Rivers Capital, LLC

8 Rivers Capital is conducting a feasibility study for the deployment of the revolutionary Allam-Fetvedt power cycle to bring the technology to the UK. The Allam-Fetvedt cycle is a technology that achieves highly efficient and low cost electricity generation with zero emissions through use of a novel supercritical carbon dioxide as the primary process fluid. This technology has been successfully demonstrated at 50 MWth scale in La Porte, Texas, and is now being commercialised by NET Power LLC, with 8 Rivers leading development of full-scale commercial projects.

The study, conducted under the BEIS CCUS Innovation Competition, aims to achieve the primary goals of the feasibility study strand of the competition, defined as “the evaluation and analysis of the potential of a project, which aims at supporting the process of decision-making by objectively and rationally uncovering its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as identifying the resources required to carry it through and ultimately its prospects for success”.

The goal of the feasibility study will be to advance both the location-specific commercial scale design, cost and business case of a project providing 300MW of dispatchable, zero carbon electricity to the Teesside region. The feasibility study will complete a cost estimate to AACE class IV, advancing the project to the point of being ready to proceed with deployment of the full-scale system in Teesside. The program will also advance the design to reduce cost, improve reliability and investigate options for increased flexibility and grid response. 8 Rivers will be collaborating with its partners and subcontractors McDermott International, WSP and Sembcorp to successfully deliver the work.