This week saw some very significant policy progress for BECCS in the U.S. with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy) publishing a new study that highlighted the supply side options required to deliver President Biden’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035.
With regards, BECCS, the study said:
By 2035, the U.S. will need 100Mt of negative emissions from BECCS to offset remaining positive carbon emissions in the power sector.
The DoE confirms its view that BECCS is woody biomass with post-combustion CCS – the model that Drax has led the world in developing.
It states: “BECCS results in a net negative emissions rate because carbon from the atmosphere is captured during photosynthesis and then sequestered after combustion.”
To get to 100% clean electricity by 2035, deployment of BECCS must start by 2026 and the installed capacity range must be between 7 and 14GW.
They believe that 7-14GW of BECCS can offset 250-375GW of fossil fuel because it acts as a capacity multiplier.
They believe there is 105 million dry tonnes of sustainable woody biomass fibre available per year to be mobilised
In the ‘constrained’ scenario, BECCS deploys ahead of DAC, highlighting it is viewed as the most efficient and effective form of CCS.
Responding to the findings, Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said:
“The evidence couldn’t be any clearer – only through deploying BECCS at scale can the United States cut its carbon emissions while simultaneously benefitting from reliable, homegrown renewable power to strengthen its energy independence.
“BECCS is vital because it can produce reliable renewable power whilst also permanently removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – no other technology does both.
“Drax is the world’s leader in developing power BECCS, having been the first company in the world to capture carbon dioxide from purely biomass combustion. We have been making very encouraging progress towards in delivering BECCS in North America and progressing with site selection, government engagement and technology development
“With the right support from governments, such as the increase in the level of support for carbon removal projects in the Inflation Reduction Act, we stand ready to invest billions in deploying BECCS at scale across the globe to cut carbon emissions and generate renewable power for millions of homes and businesses.”
The company is currently progressing plans to build the world’s largest power in carbon capture and storage project at its UK plant in North Yorkshire.
Once scaled-up, the BECCS project in the UK could capture and store eight million tonnes of CO2 each year.
Across the globe, the company plans to deliver at least four million tonnes of negative emissions outside of the UK by the end of this decade.
Drax has 18 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate production capacity of around 5 million tonnes a year across the U.S. and Canada.
In case you missed it, this morning the UK Government published a document launching a power BECCS project submission process with the intention of bringing forward projects that meet their eligibility and deliverability assessment into their Track-1 process for CCS clusters. This is consistent with our ambition for deploying BECCS at Drax Power Station in the 2020s.
From mid-December the Government will announce which power BECCS projects it intends to invite to enter into a detailed due diligence phase.
The information in the power BECCS document reiterates Government’s supportive position stating that:
‘Power BECCS can deliver on two strategic commitments for government: providing large-scale negative emissions to contribute towards engineered removal targets and generating low carbon power, which contributes to security of supply. With the 2030 goal of 5MtCO₂/year of engineered removals in mind, the progress of the Cluster Sequencing Process, and the technical readiness of power BECCS, enabling power BECCS projects to synchronise to Track-1 could enable deployment of BECCS within the 2020s.’
Drax’s response to today’s announcement, is copied below:
Drax CEO, Will Gardiner
Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said:
“This announcement shows the government’s continued commitment to decarbonising the economy by deploying the vital carbon removal technology bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). This could kick start a whole new sector of the economy and support energy security.
“BECCS is vital because it can produce reliable renewable power whilst also permanently removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – no other technology does both.
“Drax plans to invest £2bn in what will be the biggest carbon capture in power project in the world, supporting UK carbon targets and energy security, delivering thousands of jobs in the north in the 2020s, and creating new export opportunities.”
Background:
The government has already identified the advanced readiness of some greenhouse gas removal (GGR) projects, such as power BECCS.
It recently published a consultation on a business model to support power BECCS and we expect further detail on the role of BECCS in meeting Net Zero to be provided in the biomass strategy which is due to be published later this year.
“The government is paving the way for the UK to lead the world in deploying vital carbon removal technologies like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). This could kick start a whole new sector of the economy, creating green growth on an even greater scale than we have seen in the UK previously with renewables like wind and solar.
“BECCS is vital to energy security and net zero because it can produce reliable renewable power whilst also permanently removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – no other technology does both.
“Drax plans to invest £2bn in what will be the biggest carbon capture in power project in the world, supporting UK energy security, delivering thousands of jobs in the north in the 2020s, and creating new export opportunities.”
Background:
Drax has applied for development consent for its BECCS Project. If this is approved and with the right support from government, BECCS at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire could permanently remove 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from 2030.
Work to build BECCS could get underway as soon as 2024, creating and supporting around 10,000 jobs at its peak.
Drax aims to source 80% of the services and materials for the project from British businesses.
It recently signed an agreement with British Steel to explore opportunities to source steel needed for its BECCS project from British Steel’s Scunthorpe and Teesside plants.
The CO2 captured by BECCS at Drax would be transported by pipeline to a geological storage site under the North Sea. The transportation and storage is being managed by the Northern Endruance Partnership which is part of the East Coast Cluster – one of the UK Government’s two priority CCS clusters which includes CCS, hydrogen and BECCS projects in Teesside and the Humber.
To celebrate the launch of Drax Asia and the opening of a new Drax office in Japan, more than 160 guests including government officials, major trading houses, energy businesses and shipping companies, attended a reception at the British Ambassador’s residence in Tokyo.
At the reception, British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom said:
“The global issues facing us today highlight the importance of clean and secure energy supply chains. We are happy to support Drax in their expansion into Japan.”
British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom at the reception to launch Drax Asia
Drax Group, the world’s leading producer and user of sustainable biomass, aims to increase its wood pellet production capacity to 8 million tonnes a year by 2030 from 5 million tonnes a year currently, supporting global efforts to displace fossil fuels and decarbonise energy systems.
As a supplier of sustainable biomass pellets to customers in Asia and Europe, and with more than a decade of experience in converting the UK’s biggest coal-fired power station to use sustainable biomass, Drax is uniquely placed to support Japan as it further decarbonises its economy and energy system.
The British-headquartered company is also pioneering bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), an essential carbon removals technology which provides renewable energy while also permanently removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Drax Group’s Managing Director for Asia, Yasuhisa Okamoto, who is based in Tokyo and will oversee the company’s ambitious plans for growth in Japan and the region said:
Drax Group Managing Director for Asia, Yasuhisa Okamoto
“Drax’s unrivalled expertise across the entire biomass value chain – from sustainable fibre sourcing, pellet manufacturing, supply chain management, biomass power generation and BECCS – can support Japan’s climate targets, accelerating the move away from coal and enabling investment in clean energy technologies.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with Japanese companies, supporting them as they decarbonise their businesses, using sustainable biomass.”
Drax’s conversion of its UK power station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal is Europe’s largest decarbonisation project, reducing fossil fuel emissions from Drax’s power generation by over 95% since 2012.
The day after the reception in Tokyo, a team of Drax executives visited a standalone biomass power plant that Drax supplies with biomass.
Drax executives, British Ambassador and embassy official at the launch of Drax Asia. (Top L-R: Paul Sheffield – Drax Chief Commercial Officer, Ross McKenzie – Drax Director of International Affairs, Joseph Sheldon – Senior Trade Advisor British Embassy, Yasuhisa Okamoto – Drax Managing Director Asia. Bottom L-R: British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom, Clare Harbord – Drax Group Director of Corporate Affairs, Esa Heiskanen – Drax EVP Capital Projects.)
ENDS
Media contacts:
Selina Williams
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: +44 (0) 7912 230 393
Ali Lewis
Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: +44 (0) 7712 670 888
Editor’s Notes
Before joining Drax, Mr. Okamoto worked at a major Japanese trading house where he played an active role in the growth of its wood pellet business in Japan. Mr Okamoto is well known across the biomass industry internationally and will play a crucial role in achieving Drax’s target to double biomass sales by 2030.
Drax’s use of sustainable biomass is paving the way for its plans to deploy BECCS globally.
BECCS is the only negative emissions technology that can permanently remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while also continuing to generate the reliable, renewable electricity needed in a decarbonising economy.
By the end of this decade, Drax could be permanently removing 12 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year, while also delivering the renewable power required to transition off fossil fuels.
Drax has 17 sustainable biomass pellet plants and developments in the US and Canada with capacity of 5 million tonnes and access to four ports in North America.
Drax plans to increase its pellet production capacity to 8 million tonnes by 2030 to help meet its own requirements, as well as its customers’ needs in Asia and Europe, amid an expected increase in global demand for the low-carbon fuel.
Drax aims to increase pellet sales to 4 million tonnes by 2030.
Drax Power Station supplies 12% of the UK’s renewable electricity, keeping the lights on for millions of UK homes and businesses.
The UN’s IPCC, the world’s leading science-based climate authority says that sustainable biomass and negative emissions from BECCS are crucial to meet net zero.
Drax’s world leading sustainability policyguarantees the biomass used at Drax Power Station meets the highest sustainability standards and is only sourced from sustainably managed forests that are stable or growing.
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology.
Drax’s around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information visit www.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.
The Group also aims to build on its BECCS innovation at Drax Power Station with a target to deliver 4 million tonnes of negative CO2 emissions each year from new-build BECCS outside of the UK by 2030 and is currently developing models for North American and European markets.
Pellet production and supply:
The Group has 17 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate production capacity of around 5 million tonnes a year.
Drax is targeting 8 million tonnes of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3 million tonnes of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet plants supply biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses, and also to customers in Europe and Asia.
Customers:
Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK businesses, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
Drax has submitted plans to build its multi-billion-pound bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project at its North Yorkshire power station.
Work to build BECCS could start as soon as 2024 with the creation of tens of thousands of jobs across the North
Submission incorporates feedback obtained during two major public consultations
Once operational Drax’s two BECCS units will permanently remove at least 8 million tonnes of CO2 each year from the atmosphere.
The company plans to invest £2bn in the 2020s in its plans to develop two bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) units, creating and supporting thousands of jobs in the North and enabling the UK to lead the world in a vital new technology needed to address the climate crisis.
Work to build BECCS at Drax could start as soon as 2024 and once operational the two units combined will capture at least 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year, making it the largest carbon capture and storage project in power in the world.
Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO said:
Drax CEO, Will Gardiner
“Drax’s BECCS project provides the UK with a once in a generation opportunity to kickstart a whole new sector of the economy and lead the world in a vital green technology needed to address the climate crisis.
“Drax aims to invest billions of pounds and create thousands of jobs developing BECCS in the UK, provided that the UK Government has in place policies to support the feasibility and delivery of negative emissions technologies.
“BECCS at Drax will not only permanently remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year, but it will also generate the reliable, renewable power this country needs. No other technology can do both.”
The submission of its application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate marks a major milestone in the project and follows two major consultations carried out by Drax, which sought to gain views from the public and key stakeholders on its BECCS plans.
Deploying BECCS on two of its generating units will support Drax’s plans to become a carbon negative company by 2030 – permanently removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than is produced right across its operations.
Drax plans to source up to 80% of the materials and services it needs to build its BECCS project from British businesses. It recently announced a partnership with British Steel to identify opportunities to source the steel to build BECCS from its Scunthorpe and Teesside steelworks.
The Planning Inspectorate accepted Drax’s application for a Development Consent Order for its UK BECCS project in June and will examine the plans before making a recommendation to the Secretary of State with a final decision expected next year.
The world leading climate scientists at the UN’s IPCC say BECCS is a vital negative emissions technology required globally to reach the climate targets set out in the Parish Climate Accord in 2015.
Negative emissions technologies are essential because they can permanently remove the CO2 accumulating in the atmosphere, which is causing temperatures to rise.
Once up and running, Drax’s CO2 from Drax’s BECCS units would be transported via pipeline to the Endurance storage site, under the North Sea. This part of the process is being developed and by The Northern Endurance Partnership.
Drax is part of the East Coast Cluster, a partnership between Zero Carbon Humber and Net Zero Teesside. The East Coast Cluster was selected by the UK government to be one of two priority industrial clusters to progress plans for carbon capture in the 2020s.
The Humber and Teesside account for more than half the UK’s industrial emissions, so decarbonising these regions would have a major impact on the UK’s target to reach net zero by 2050.
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology.
Drax’s around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information visit www.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.
The Group also aims to build on its BECCS innovation at Drax Power Station with a target to deliver 4 million tonnes of negative CO2 emissions each year from new-build BECCS outside of the UK by 2030 and is currently developing models for North American and European markets.
Pellet production and supply:
The Group has 17 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate production capacity of around 5 million tonnes a year.
Drax is targeting 8 million tonnes of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3 million tonnes of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet plants supply biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses, and also to customers in Europe and Asia.
Customers:
Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK businesses, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
Drax and MOL Drybulk partner to develop wind power technology that will reduce biomass shipping emissions by a fifth
Newly built vessels will be fitted with MOL’s Wind Challenger hard sail technology, with first ship expected as soon as 2025
The initiative is part of Drax’s plans to reduce its supply chain emissions and become carbon negative by 2030 using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
The companies plan to facilitate the development of wind-powered vessels to transport bulk cargoes of Drax’s wood pellets to its customers in Japan, where the biomass is used to generate reliable, renewable energy, which displaces fossil fuels.
EFBC-1 (Wind Challenger and Rotor sails)
The newly built vessels will be fitted with MOL’s Wind Challenger hard sail technology, with the first ship expected to be on the water as soon as 2025.
The initiative is part of Drax’s plans to further reduce supply chain emissions in line with its world-leading ambition to be a carbon negative company by 2030, by using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).
Drax Group Chief Executive Will Gardiner said:
Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner
“MOL Drybulk’s hard sail technology has the potential to transform the maritime industry, cutting emissions and fuel costs and supporting global efforts to address the climate crisis.
“This partnership to advance this crucial new technology will support Drax’s commitment to reduce its own supply chain emissions and could also deliver far-reaching benefits across a number of different sectors that rely on ships to carry goods to customers around the world.”
Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the two companies will study the feasibility of deploying a first and second generation Environmentally Friendly Bulk Carrier (EFBC) to carry Drax’s biomass.
The first EFBC will use MOL’s automated telescopic hard sail technology – Wind Challenger, and will evaluate the application of other technologies including rotor sails.
The second EFBC aims to at least halve emissions with new vessel designs that use multiple Wind Challenger sails, other low-carbon technologies in development and the use of alternative fuels such as ammonia, liquefied natural gas and synthetic fuels.
Sail from the rear – extended
Sail from the rear – retracted
Construction of the Wind Challenger sail at Oshima Shipbuilding Yard
Kazuhiko Kikuchi, President and Representative Director of MOL Drybulk said:
Kazuhiko Kikuchi, President and Representative Director of MOL Drybulk
“MOL has been working with our partners to develop the Wind Challenger technology for over a decade, and it’s great to see this become a reality.”
“We are extremely excited to work together with an innovative company such as Drax. This partnership will help us have a positive impact on how wood pellets and other cargoes are transported across the world.”
MOL Drybulk’s work will include developing the technologies that will be used and liaising with the shipyard where the vessel will be built and fitted with the hard sail technology. Drax will work with the ports and terminals in the supply chain on the operational feasibility studies.
The MoU with MOL Drybulk follows Drax’s previous work with the Smart Green Shipping Alliance to look at the potential of fitting innovative sail technology on ships transporting biomass from the US to the UK.
ENDS
Top image caption: Image of the vessel fitted with Wind Challenger technology that will be launched later this year
International shipping is the backbone of the global economy, transporting about 90% of global trade volumes. The sector produces around 940 million tonnes of CO2 a year – around 2.5% of the world’s total CO2
Drax has already cut emissions from its fossil fuel generation by over 95% since 2012 and is targeting further reductions for its remaining emissions, including in its supply chain.
Drax reports its supply chain emissions in its Annual Report, which is independently audited.
Drax’s biomass comes from sustainably managed working forests. It includes the residuals left behind after harvesting activities for other sectors such as construction and furniture, as well as sawmill residues and thinnings.
MOL Drybulk is a 100% subsidiary of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (MOL)
MOL has set out its plans to reach net zero by 2050
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technology.
Drax’s around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information visit www.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.
The Group also aims to build on its BECCS innovation at Drax Power Station with a target to deliver 4Mt of negative CO2 emissions each year from new-build BECCS outside of the UK by 2030 and is currently developing models for North American and European markets.
Pellet production and supply:
The Group has 17 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate production capacity of around 5 million tonnes a year once developments are complete.
Drax is targeting 8Mt of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3Mt of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet plants supply biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses and also to customers in Europe and Asia.
Customers:
Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK businesses, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
MOL Drybulk Ltd. is a 100% Subsidiary company of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and is a unique entity operating vessels ranging from 10,000DWT up to 100,000DWT bulk carriers, wood chip carriers and multi-purpose vessels, with the aim to provide a “one-stop service” to the customers, work collaboratively to meet their needs and provide environmental solutions to reduce the GHG emissions throughout the supply chain.
About Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL)
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), as a global marine transport group, operates a global fleet exceeding 700 vessels, including tankers, bulkers, car carriers, ferries, which also extends to offshore projects. Under the “MOLGROUP Environmental Vision 2.1” established in June 2021, MOL clarifies its commitment to achieve sustainable “Net Zero GHG Emissions” by 2050 through collective efforts with all capabilities within the group.
The “Wind Challenger”
The Wind Challenger Project started in 2009 with the “Wind Challenger Plan,” an industry-academia joint research project led by The University of Tokyo, and in January 2018, MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding took charge of the plan and now play a central role in this project. The system converts wind energy to propulsive force with a telescopic hard sail.
In October 2019, it acquired Approval in Principle (AIP) for the design of a hard sail system.
In December 2020, MOL reached a long-term transport deal with Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. using a 99,000DWT vessel equipped with a Wind Challenger sail with the aim to achieve 5% to 8% reduction of the GHG emissions. The vessel is currently constructed at Oshima Shipbuilding, and is scheduled to commence service in Q4 2022.
Renewable energy company Drax is exploring opportunities with British Steel for it to supply around 13,000 tonnes of steel for the energy company’s multi-billion-pound UK bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project.
Partnership will also support the development of skills in the steel supply chain required to develop UK CCUS expertise, enabling the country to lead the world in the vital green industries needed to address the climate crisis.
Drax’s ambition is to source up to 80% of the materials and services it needs to develop BECCS in the UK from British businesses, protecting and creating thousands of jobs, helping to level up the North.
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) brings together two major British industries to support the development of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), a technology which could kickstart a whole new sector of the economy and create opportunities for the UK to lead the world in a vital technology required to address global warming.
Through the partnership, Drax and British Steel aim to support efforts to meet the UK’s climate targets and level up the North, whilst supporting skills within the steel sector.
Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO said:
Will Gardiner, CEO, Drax Group
“We are excited to be partnering with British Steel as we continue to progress our world-leading UK BECCS project. This country has a once in a lifetime opportunity to lead the world in vital new green technologies like BECCS, which will not only support thousands of UK jobs, but could also create new export opportunities, whilst helping to tackle the climate crisis.
“We aim to invest billions of pounds, create tens of thousands of jobs and have BECCS operational in the UK by 2030, provided that the UK Government has in place policies to support the feasibility and delivery of negative emissions technologies. BECCS will permanently remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year from as soon as 2027, whilst continuing to generate the reliable, renewable power this country needs.”
BECCS is a critical technology needed to combat global warming because it permanently removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere whilst also generating reliable, renewable electricity.
Drax is ready to invest around £2bn in its plans to build BECCS in the UK. Work could get underway as soon as 2024, with the energy company planning to source up to 80% of the materials and services it needs for the project from British businesses.
Graham Backhouse, Commercial Director at Drax, Lisa Coulson, Marketing & Strategy Director at British Steel.
Around 13,000 tonnes of steel will be required for the major infrastructure project, including beams produced at British Steel’s Scunthorpe and Teesside steel works.
Allan Bell, British Steel’s Chief Commercial and Procurement Officer, said:
“We are proud to be working with Drax to explore the opportunities this major infrastructure project creates both in terms of the use of our steel products but also in developing skills in the steel supply chain required to support the development of CCUS expertise within the UK.
“We’re already making progress in our own decarbonisation journey, with our plans to use green hydrogen and our commitment to be net zero by 2050. There are real synergies between what we’re trying to achieve and Drax’s ambitions with BECCS, which we hope to build on through this partnership, putting the UK and the North of England on the world map.”
Esa Heiskanen, Chief Officer Capital Projects at Drax, Xifeng Han CEO British Steel.
Holly Mumby-Croft MP, Member of Parliament for Scunthorpe, said:
“I was delighted to hear that Drax and British Steel had reached this agreement, it’s some really positive news for Scunthorpe.
“I’ve long said that we should be using British steel in British infrastructure projects not only because we should be supporting our local businesses, but because it’s also the best. I look forward to seeing the outcome of this partnership and the benefits it will bring to Scunthorpe, protecting jobs and supporting energy security.”
If the UK government gives more clarity this summer on the process for BECCS power projects to move forward within its CCS cluster programme, Drax’s BECCS project could capture 8 million tonnes of CO2 a year from 2030, making it the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world.
It will also act as an anchor project for the East Coast Cluster, a consortium of Zero Carbon Humber and Net Zero Teesside, which combined account for more than half of the UK’s industrial emissions.
The UK steel industry has played a pivotal role in the northern communities in which it operates, supporting thousands of jobs in both Scunthorpe and Teesside. Large infrastructure projects like Drax’s BECCS plans will support and help protect jobs in the steel sector.
ENDS
Main image caption:
(From L – R) Ben Cunliffe, Commercial Director (Constuction), British Steel, Graham Backhouse, Commercial Director at Drax, Chris Vaughan Technical Director at British Steel, Allan Bell, Chief Commercial Officer at British Steel, Lisa Coulson, Marketing & Strategy Director at British Steel, Esa Heiskanen, Chief Officer Capital Projects at Drax.
The East Coast Cluster was selected by the UK government to be one of two priority industrial clusters to progress plans for carbon capture in the 2020s.
More than 600 businesses from across the North recently attended supplier events Drax organised, where companies were able to find out more about how they could benefit from contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds associated with its BECCS plans.
More than 1,800 people have signed up to pledge their support for Drax’s plans for BECCS at the power station in North Yorkshire.
The world leading climate scientists at the UN’s IPCC say BECCS is a vital negative emissions technology required globally to reach the climate targets set out in the Parish Climate Accord in 2015.
Negative emissions technologies are essential because they can permanently remove the CO2 accumulating in the atmosphere, which is causing temperatures to rise.
Once up and running, Drax’s CO2 from Drax’s BECCS units would be transported via pipeline to the Endurance storage site, under the North Sea. This part of the process is being developed and by The Northern Endurance Partnership.
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technology.
Drax’s around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information visit www.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.
The Group also aims to build on its BECCS innovation at Drax Power Station with a target to deliver 4Mt of negative CO2 emissions each year from new-build BECCS outside of the UK by 2030 and is currently developing models for North American and European markets.
Pellet production and supply:
The Group has 17 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate capacity of 4.6Mt, which will increase to c.5Mt once developments are complete.
Drax is targeting 8Mt of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3Mt of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
Customers:
Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.
It offers a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
Investing in more long duration electricity storage, such as expanding Drax’s Cruachan pumped storage hydro plant in Scotland, would mean more excess renewable power could be stored and made available when required, cutting costs and carbon emissions.
The cost of turning off UK wind farms to manage the electricity system rose from almost £300m during 2020 to over £500m in 2021, contributing to higher energy bills and carbon emissions, according to a new report.
Costs increased substantially because the system relied on expensive gas power to manage periods when wind power was curtailed, as not enough electricity storage was available to prevent the excess renewable power from wind farms going to waste.
The independent report by Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP), commissioned by renewable energy leader Drax, found that over the last two years curtailing wind power added £806m to energy bills in Britain. Rising gas prices made the practice more expensive, as gas power stations were increasingly used to support the system when wind power was curtailed.
Despite the growing need for more homegrown renewable power generation from wind farms to support energy security, enough renewable power to supply 800,000 UK homes went to waste in 2020 and 2021 as wind farms were routinely asked to switch off by the Electricity System Operator.
This happened as a result of constraints in the transmission system and a lack of long-duration storage capacity, which is needed to manage periods when renewable power generation outstrips demand.
Britain is a world leader in wind power with capacity increasing from 5.4GW in 2010 to 25.7GW in 2021 – wind turbines now have the capacity to provide enough renewable power for almost 20 million homes.
But without any new long-duration storage projects built for almost 40 years in the UK, the only way to manage the imbalance when generation outstrips demand and prevent damage to the electricity grid, is to curtail wind power – a practice which could be significantly reduced if more energy storage was available.
And with gas power stations overwhelmingly called upon to plug the gaps in supply when wind was constrained due to transmission issues, there was an environmental cost.
An extra two million tonnes of CO2 was emitted during 2020 and 2021 as a result of gas being used to replace curtailed wind power, equivalent to putting almost half a million more cars on Britain’s roads.
Chris Matson, from LCP, said:
“Increasing the output from wind power is essential for the UK to achieve its climate targets and ensure energy security. And yet because investment in the infrastructure needed to support this expansion has not kept pace, wind curtailment is costing the consumer and the environment. Every pound spent on curtailing wind power is a pound wasted.”
Drax has recently submitted an application to construct and operate a new underground pumped storage hydro power station at its existing Cruachan facility in Scotland.
The 600 MW plant will be located in one of the most constrained transmission areas and will play a crucial role in supporting more wind power to come online to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions.
Penny Small, Drax’s Group Generation Director, said:
Penny Small, Drax Group Generation Director
“This report underlines the need for a new regulatory framework to encourage private investment in long-duration storage technologies.
“The UK is a world-leader in offshore wind, but for the country’s green energy ambitions to be realised we need the right energy storage infrastructure to support this vital technology, make the system secure and reduce costs.
“Drax’s plan to expand Cruachan will strengthen UK energy security, by enabling more homegrown renewable electricity to power British homes and businesses, reducing system costs and cutting carbon emissions.”
Long-duration storage projects have been left in limbo in recent years without an updated policy and market support mechanism from the UK Government.
The lack of a framework for these technologies means that private investment cannot currently be secured in new pumped storage hydro projects, with no new plants built anywhere in the UK since 1984 despite their critical role in decarbonisation.
A copy of the ‘Renewable curtailment and the role of long duration storage’ report can be found here.
The report defines consumer costs of curtailing wind as the cost of turning wind plant down (bid costs), the consumer benefit arising from the non-payment of low-carbon support payments to curtailed wind plant, and the cost of paying generation to turn-up (offer costs) to replace the lost wind generation.
Of the £806m cost to consumers from wind curtailment in 2020 and 2021, 82% (£663m) was from curtailing wind in Scotland – underlining the need for flexible technologies in Scotland specifically.
The new power station could be operation in 2030 with construction work getting underway in 2024.
It will be a major infrastructure project which will remove of around 2 million tonnes of rock from inside the mountain to create a cavern and tunnels, with around 900 jobs created during its construction and across the supply chain.
Long-duration electricity storage can be defined as technologies that are able to respond to supply and demand variations caused by daily peaks, weather events and seasonal patterns, providing power for more than four hours at their full capacity.
The government held a call for evidence to hear the industry’s views on de-risking investment at the end of 2021 and aims to evaluate options and respond this year.
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technology.
Drax’s around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information visit www.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.
The Group also aims to build on its BECCS innovation at Drax Power Station with a target to deliver 4Mt of negative CO2 emissions each year from new-build BECCS outside of the UK by 2030 and is currently developing models for North American and European markets.
Pellet production and supply:
The Group has 17 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate capacity of 4.6Mt, which will increase to c.5Mt once developments are complete.
Drax is targeting 8Mt of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3Mt of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
Customers:
Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.
It offers a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
LCP’s energy analytics team specialises in the modelling and analysis of the GB power sector. LCP’s modelling plays a key role in the sector and is at the heart of GB policy analysis. Their electricity market forecasting models are used by BEIS to assess the impact of changes to energy policy, including the analysis behind its energy white papers and Net Zero strategy. It is also used by National Grid ESO to model system security, by Ofgem to assess changes to charging arrangements, and by the LCCC to set the costs to suppliers of the Contracts for Difference scheme.
LCP also work with clients across the UK and Ireland to provide market forecasting, asset valuation and policy impact analysis. These clients include generators, suppliers, investors, strategists, traders and policy analysts.
Source for cars on the road saving:
67.7 Mt of CO2e from cars (& taxis) in 2019, 32.84m cars on road on avg in 2019. 2.06 tonnes of CO2e per car 1.02426 Mt of emissions per year from wind curtailment = 497,251 cars.
More than 328 businesses from across Yorkshire and the Humber came together this week to learn how they can win contracts to help Drax deliver its multi-billion-pound bionergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project.
Drax aims to source 80% of construction materials and services for its BECCS project from British businesses.
The project will create 10,000 jobs across the North during its construction, developing green skills and helping to level up the region.
The event, run in partnership with NOF, the UK’s leading UK energy sector business development organisation, and the West & North Yorkshire and Hull & Humber Chambers of Commerce, was held in Hull.
Drax has previously said that it aims to source 80% of the construction materials and services from British firms and to build a robust UK supply chain for BECCS, ahead of construction getting underway as soon as 2024, with the creation of around 10,000 jobs.
Graham Backhouse, Drax’s Commercial Director for the BECCS project, said:
“We want to put British businesses at the heart of our plans to deliver BECCS. It was fantastic to see such a broad range of companies, large and small, from across the region come together to learn how they can benefit from hundreds of millions of pounds worth of new contracts.
“Negative emissions technologies like BECCS will play a vital role in enabling the UK to reach its net zero goals, as well as creating exciting opportunities for Britain to lead the world in a vital technology, creating a new sector of the economy, as well as export opportunities.”
David Hooper, External Affairs and Membership Director at Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce, said:
“The event was a fantastic opportunity for businesses from across the region to learn about the huge opportunities available for them to be involved in Drax’s BECCS project. Projects like this will provide a vital opportunity for the UK supply chain to access millions of pounds worth of contracts, supporting jobs and growth in the Hull and Humber region.
“It’s incredible to think that the Humber is the largest emitter of CO2 in Europe after the Ruhr Valley in Germany, so it’s great to see businesses coming together to make significant changes which will benefit the entire region over the coming years. The Chamber welcomes and supports this initiative and it’s encouraging to see so many local businesses wanting to get involved and play their part.”
Diana Taylor, Managing Director of Marketing Humber, said:
“BECCS at Drax will have a huge impact both economically and environmentally across the whole of the region, and it will play a vital role in enabling a zero carbon Humber.
“It’s crucial that businesses from across the Humber play a role in Drax’s plans, as it will not only support the economic growth of the region, but it will also support the creation of green jobs, helping to level up the North.”
Drax has a proven track record in delivering ambitious and pioneering infrastructure projects with the conversion of its power station in North Yorkshire to use sustainable biomass having enabled it to become the UK’s largest single site renewable generator, supporting more than 6,600 jobs throughout its supply chains across the North, whilst reducing its emissions by over 95% and paving the way for the deployment of BECCS.
The event was held at Wynyard Hall on Wednesday 18th of May 2022.
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technology.
Drax’s around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information visit www.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.
The Group also aims to build on its BECCS innovation at Drax Power Station with a target to deliver 4Mt of negative CO2 emissions each year from new-build BECCS outside of the UK by 2030 and is currently developing models for North American and European markets.
Pellet production and supply:
The Group has 17 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate capacity of 4.6Mt, which will increase to c.5Mt once developments are complete.
Drax is targeting 8Mt of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3Mt of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
Customers:
Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.
It offers a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
“The event was a fantastic opportunity for businesses from across the region to learn about the huge opportunities available for them to be involved in Drax’s BECCS project. Projects like this will provide a vital opportunity for the UK supply chain to access millions of pounds worth of contracts, supporting jobs and growth in the Hull and Humber region.