TEESSIDE COULD DECARBONISE SOFT DRINK BOTTLE SUPPLY CHAIN

• First-of-a-kind carbon capture plant could decarbonise soft drink bottle supply chain
• Demonstration centre to provide a base for bringing carbon capture and utilisation tech to market
• Oxburgh report highlights job creation potential of Teesside CCS hub

A contract that puts Teesside at the forefront of innovative carbon capture and usage technology has been awarded today by Teesside Collective, the leading cluster of energy-intensive industries working together to establish Europe’s first clean industrial zone.

The move comes as the Government formulates its policy on decarbonisation in the light of the cancellation in November of funding for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in the power sector. A policy review was published today by Lord Oxburgh, who visited Teesside to hear about the Collective’s plans as part of his review.

Lord Oxburgh’s report states: “Thousands of jobs would be created around CCS ‘hubs’, giving a huge boost to the economic regeneration of some of Britain’s oldest industrial centres such as Teesside and Grangemouth.”

Welcoming the publication of Lord Oxburgh’s report, Neil Kenley, Director of Business Investment at Tees Valley Combined Authority, said:

“Teesside Collective is determined to move first and fast in the race to decarbonise vital industrial processes, which is why we’re pushing ahead with the award of this contract to design trial plant in the Tees Valley.

“The assertion in Lord Oxburgh’s report that CCS on energy intensive industries represents some of the cheapest available carbon abatement in the UK economy underscores the need for it to be front and centre in the Government’s emerging CCS policy. Working together to develop national CCS infrastructure is in the interests of the British industrial base, the tax payer and the planet.”

A consortium of Pale Blue Dot Energy, Costain and the UK Centre for Carbon Dioxide Utilisation at the University of Sheffield has been commissioned:

• To design a CO2 capture unit at Lotte Chemical at Wilton and develop a business case to sell the CO2. Lotte makes PPT needed by major soft drink brands for the manufacture of 15 billion recyclable drinks bottles every year. Lotte produces about 55,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, and a capture plant would capture 90 per cent of that.

• To design a demonstration centre on Teesside which can be used by companies wanting to scale up ‘near to market’ carbon utilisation technologies – mostly for heavy industrial processes such as the manufacturing of aggregates, fertilisers and other chemicals – and produce a corresponding business case.

Pale Blue Dot will be leading project management and working on business and commercial models. Costain will be engineering the carbon capture unit at Lotte and the UK Centre for Carbon Dioxide Utilisation at the University of Sheffield will be designing the demonstration centre and commercial and operating models.

The Government is providing funding for Teesside Collective to continue to scope out the possibilities offered by industrial CCS in the North East and to develop options for a financing mechanism.  A first phase of work outlining a technically viable, end-to-end plan for a CCS network in Teesside was published last year in its Blueprint for Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage in the UK.

Steve Murphy, Director at Pale Blue Dot Energy, said:

“Working with Teesside Collective again will allow us to continue to build the body of evidence needed to demonstrate that CCS technologies are commercially viable.”

Dr Grant Wilson and Professor Peter Styring from the University of Sheffield said:

“The impact of the proposed carbon capture and utilisation demonstration centre cannot be underestimated, helping more heavy industrial companies decarbonise their facilities and explore innovative uses for carbon and income streams. Utilisation of CO2 is gaining momentum globally and this will put the UK at the forefront of that effort.”

<< Back to News