Tag: BECCS

Newsweek Pillars of the Green Transition interview with Drax CEO, Will Gardiner

18 November 2024

Opinion

This interview appeared first in Newsweek Investment Reports.

Given the recent energy challenges in Europe, especially since the war in Ukraine, how do you view Drax’s transition from fossil fuels to biomass? Do you believe this model is scalable and reliable enough to meet Europe’s long-term energy demands amidst geopolitical instability?

The war in Ukraine has demonstrated how critical biomass can be as an alternative energy source and its role in the energy transition. While solar and wind are often seen as the core renewable energy technologies, they aren’t always reliable, especially when there’s no wind or sun. Biomass serves as an essential solution that offers the same stability and reliability as coal but without the associated CO2 emissions. It provides critical ancillary services to the grid, like inertia and reactive power, similar to large-scale thermal plants, making it a valuable asset in ensuring energy supply.

However, it’s important to recognize that biomass should not be the primary energy source. Its usage must be sustainable, meaning there have to be clear rules on sourcing feedstock. At Drax, our transition from coal to biomass has been guided by strict sustainability requirements, ensuring that the biomass we use is renewable and responsibly sourced.

Can you briefly explain what biomass is and how it fits into Drax’s operations?

Biomass involves using sustainable wood pellets instead of fossil fuels to generate power. Drax, originally the largest coal-fired power station in Western Europe, underwent a significant transformation over the past two decades to switch from coal to biomass. Today, instead of burning coal, we use around 7 to 8 million tons of wood pellets annually, primarily sourced from the southeastern U.S. and western Canada.

The transition involved building a new supply chain tailored to biomass, which includes customized storage, logistics, and transport processes. Once the biomass reaches our power station, it’s used in the boilers to generate electricity in a way that’s similar to coal-fired generation, but with a much lower carbon footprint.

Drax has set a goal to be carbon negative by 2030. How do you plan to achieve this, and what role will carbon capture and storage play in the process?

Biomass is already a low-carbon power generation method, but by incorporating carbon capture and storage (CCS), we can take it a step further. Our plan is to install carbon capture units at our UK power station starting in 2027, with the goal of being fully operational by 2030. This technology will capture the CO2 emissions that come out of the power station and store them under the North Sea, effectively making our operations carbon negative.

Once fully operational, this process will remove 4 million tons of CO2 annually from the atmosphere. To put this into perspective, capturing 8 million tons of CO2 is equivalent to installing heat pumps in every home in Birmingham, the UK’s second-largest city.

How do you ensure that the biomass you source is sustainable and doesn’t contribute to deforestation?

The sustainability of biomass hinges on it being a renewable resource. This means that the CO2 absorbed by trees as they grow is released when we burn the pellets but is reabsorbed by new trees, maintaining a balanced cycle within the biosphere. Unlike fossil fuels, which release CO2 that’s been locked in rocks for millions of years, biomass doesn’t add new carbon to the atmosphere.

To ensure sustainability, all our biomass is sourced from forests that are actively regenerating, with no contribution to deforestation. In fact, the forests we source from are required to have increasing or stable carbon stocks. In the southeastern U.S., where most of our pellets come from, carbon stocks have been steadily growing since the 1950s. Additionally, strict limits are in place for CO2 emissions throughout the supply chain, from pellet production to transport, ensuring that biomass remains a low-carbon process.

Our sourcing practices are also rigorously documented and regulated, ensuring compliance with UK government standards. Importantly, the majority of our feedstock comes from byproducts such as sawdust and shavings from sawmills, contributing to a more well-managed forest ecosystem.

How do you integrate biomass with other renewable energy sources to create a reliable energy mix?

The UK’s energy system relies on a mix of different fuels, including wind, solar, gas, biomass, and hydro. Each source plays a different role in ensuring energy stability. For instance, on a sunny day with light wind, around a quarter of the UK’s power might come from solar, 13% from wind, 25% from gas, and 8% from biomass.

Biomass is unique because it’s a renewable, dispatchable energy source, meaning it can be turned up or down based on demand. This flexibility is crucial for maintaining a balanced energy system, especially when wind and solar aren’t generating power.

Drax’s strategy focuses on providing dispatchable renewable power to support the grid when other sources aren’t available, ensuring a reliable and stable energy supply.

As biomass continues to expand, particularly in North America, how do you plan to scale up operations, and what challenges do you anticipate for the industry?

The history of biomass power generation, especially over the last 25 years, has largely been about replacing coal, which is one of the most carbon-intensive fuel sources. As wind and solar become more affordable and widespread, the role of biomass will evolve. The next generation of biomass power stations will likely integrate carbon capture and storage, enabling biomass to act as a source of carbon removal.

For Drax, our plan is to build biomass power stations in the U.S. with integrated carbon capture and storage technology, which offers two key benefits: 24/7 green power and significant carbon removal. This combination is crucial for achieving net zero and meeting the growing demand for sustainable power, especially as technologies like AI drive increased energy consumption.

Why do you think biomass, despite being a significant part of the energy mix, isn’t as well-known as wind or solar energy?

Biomass tends to be more geographically specific. It’s an important part of the energy transition in countries like the UK, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands, where sustainable forestry is prevalent. In regions with fewer forests, like Southern Europe, it’s less common. Moreover, in places with consistent sunshine, like the Middle East, solar energy paired with batteries is often more viable. The visibility and relevance of biomass vary based on regional resources and energy needs.

How significant will carbon capture be in reducing emissions, and when do you think it will become a scalable solution?

Carbon capture is poised to play a crucial role in reducing emissions. The technology is proven and has been used by oil and gas companies for many years. The shift toward making carbon capture a viable business solution has gained momentum, particularly after COP26, with major players in the energy sector investing in this technology.

There are also growing incentives in countries like the U.S., Sweden, and Denmark, making carbon capture economically viable. By 2030, we expect to see the first significant projects, including ours in the UK and the U.S., with broader adoption occurring by the mid-2030s.

How do you educate the public about carbon capture and ensure they understand its importance in achieving net zero?

The need to achieve net zero is now widely accepted by the public and business leaders alike, especially as climate events like hurricanes, floods, and droughts continue to highlight the urgency of the situation. However, it’s crucial to convey that simply reducing emissions won’t be enough—we must also remove CO2 from the atmosphere to reach net zero.

We spend considerable time working with governments to ensure they understand this narrative, as government support is vital for driving the adoption of carbon capture technology. Once governments are on board, it becomes easier to communicate this message to the public, making carbon capture a more integral part of the green energy transition.

Advancing carbon removal: why BECCS methodology is having growing impact on CCUS globally

7 October 2024

Opinion

By Angela Hepworth, Commercial Director at Drax.

Earlier this year, leading bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) developers Drax and Stockholm Exergi released a methodology for BECCS-derived CO2 removal (CDR) credits to ensure a high standard of integrity. Angela Hepworth, Commercial Director at Drax, explores the methodology and how this development will positively impact the global CDR market.

In the fight against climate change, BECCS has the potential to deliver gigatonne-scale, permanent carbon removals. Demand for carbon removals is set to increase 13 times the size of the 2021 market to 2.6 Gt by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum, as organisations across the planet search for realistic solutions to meet their climate commitments.

Drax has been pioneering BECCS projects that will remove CO2 from the atmosphere in the US, UK and beyond. The company is not simply focused on advancing the technology, but is committed to ensuring that BECCS projects deliver the carbon benefits they promise are sustainable, and provide an equitable energy transition that everyone can benefit from.

There’s an urgent need for companies like Drax to develop high-quality carbon removal projects at scale. To do that, we sell CDR credits to organisations who can use them as part of their pathway to decarbonisation. However, the market for carbon removals is still tiny compared to the global need, and there are numerous barriers that prevent it from working properly.

Read the full story in New Energy World, the magazine of the Energy Institute. 

The BECCS Blueprint: Inside Drax’s Carbon Removal Methodology

4 October 2024

Opinion

This episode first appeared on Carbon Capture Magazine’s podcast.

In a recent edition of Carbon Capture Magazine’s podcast (S3 Ep8), our Commerical Director, Angela Hepworth, speaks about our world-leading BECCS methodology and its role in verifying carbon removals from BECCS.

Listen below to learn more about:

  • Why carbon removal technologies, like BECCS, are critical to meeting climate goals.
  • How BECCS is a unique technology that generates renewable power while removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
  • How we worked with Stockholm Exergi to create a framework, validated by DNV, which will give buyers confidence in the sustainability and quality of carbon removals from BECCS, and helps to pave the way for a thriving voluntary carbon market for high-integrity CDRs, crucial for a Net Zero Future.

Listen to the full podcast:

Learn more about BECCS at Drax here.

BECCS: Strengthening the power grid against extreme weather

2 July 2024

Opinion

By Raj Swaminathan, Senior Vice President, North American Projects

This week, those of us who live in the United States will celebrate Independence Day. It’s a holiday where we carve out time to reflect on the freedoms we’re able to enjoy and, for many, it can also be a day where we contemplate the freedoms we’re still actively pursuing for the future.  

After more than 25 years of working in the energy industry it’s possible I could be a little biased, but I firmly believe one of our nation’s most important pursuits is energy independence. When we hear the term “energy independence”, many of us think of having enough energy supply to avoid relying on other countries for imports – but there’s another key ingredient in energy independence that’s just as important: energy reliability. 

As storms and temperature swings become more severe due to climate change, the power grid needs greater resilience to handle the strain from above average air conditioner or heater usage. When the stress becomes too great the grid can drop, leading to dangerous or even life-threatening situations for those left exposed to the extreme weather. 

At the same time, demand for power is soaring, and a growing percentage of our power is being generated from intermittent renewables like wind and solar that can’t be turned up on demand to offset additional strain. 

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is one of the only renewable technologies that can diversify our nation’s energy portfolio, provide stable baseload power, and contribute to US energy independence – all while removing carbon from the atmosphere. 

Diversifying our nation’s energy portfolio with BECCS 

In the winter of 2021, Texas experienced an unusually bitter cold snap. At that time, approximately 42 percent of the state’s power was generated from natural gas, and more than half of the supply was impacted by weather-related conditions including power outages and frozen equipment. Overall, the natural disaster caused 4.5 million homes to lose power, 57 people lost their lives, and over $195 billion in property damage occurred. 

Just like a diversified stock portfolio helps reduce an investor’s risk, a diversified energy portfolio helps reduce the risks from a specific energy source failing. Sustainable biomass, the fuel underpinning BECCS, is a unique source of renewable energy that further defends power grids against the supply and production issues that can become points of failure with less diversified energy mixes. 

BECCS anchors intermittent energy sources 

Historically, when unusually high demand strained the grid, power stations could use more fossil fuels to temporarily generate more energy. As these legacy fuel sources continue to get phased down to minimize emissions, intermittent alternatives like wind and solar are playing a larger role in America’s energy mix. 

Because sunshine and wind can’t be dialed up on demand, this can become problematic when extreme weather sets in and power demand spikes. Powered by sustainable biomass, BECCS offers a unique source of renewable power that can be ramped up around the clock, seven days per week. Because of this, BECCS can serve as the backbone of renewable power grids – a role that fossil fuels often fill today. 

BECCS will contribute to US energy independence 

As evidenced in the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, relying on other nations to help supply our energy opens our country to geopolitical risks. 

Not only will BECCS help to diversify power grids, but it will also contribute more power to the grid at a time when experts have warned a massive energy crunch is quickly approaching. As modern technologies like AI and blockchain continue to progress toward mainstream adoption, the datacenters underpinning them could see energy consumption double by 2030. Without exponentially more power generation, this translates to a shrinking buffer for grid strain before blackouts start to happen, while at the same time climate change is causing the frequency and scale of extreme weather – and related high energy usage – to worsen. 

Drax’s US BECCS facilities will also be built in regions where they can source biomass locally. This not only makes those facilities more sustainable by reducing transportation emissions, but it also means they will be producing renewable fuel domestically. This production can be ramped up when needed, and sustainable biomass stores can be held in reserve for emergencies. 

While it will take a number of solutions to meet America’s projected energy needs, Drax’s planned BECCS facilities in the US will contribute to both the energy supply and diversification needed to help our country achieve an independent and more reliable energy future. And it will do so while permanently removing legacy CO2 emissions.  

I hope everyone in the US has a safe and meaningful Independence Day. 

To learn more about BECCS by Drax, visit www.draxcarbonremovals.com/beccs-technology 

[Carbon Capture Magazine article] Spiking Energy Demand

7 May 2024

Opinion

This story first appeared in Carbon Capture Magazine.

By Raj Swaminathan, Senior Vice President at Drax.

While there’s little debate that the greenhouse gas emissions that sit at the heart of our planet’s unprecedented warming come from fossil fuel consumption and other human activities, clawing back these carbon outputs is a multi-faceted issue. In addition to efforts to transition to renewable power sources like wind, solar, and biomass, which remain essential to mitigating this crisis, leading scientists agree that reducing emissions is not sufficient; we must go further and faster with carbon removals.

It’s estimated that we’ll need to capture and store as much as 9.5 billion metric tons of CO2 every year by 2050 to reverse legacy emissions enough to achieve international climate targets, according to the IPCC. Today, carbon removal facilities only capture a fraction of the emissions generated across the planet, and we urgently need a spectrum of high-quality solutions to scale our ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

At the same time, spiking energy demand – driven largely by the growing needs of data centers, particularly those underpinning artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology, as well as new industrial and manufacturing facilities – also means we need to increase generation capacity rapidly to avoid an energy security crisis. This becomes more difficult to achieve through intermittent sources like wind and solar alone, which can’t be turned up and down when the grid is strained, opening an opportunity for solutions that can provide renewable, baseload power while permanently removing carbon from the atmosphere to fill this vital need.

Bioenergy with CCS – a critical technology for decarbonization

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is a carbon removal technology that uses sustainably sourced biomass to generate renewable energy while permanently sequestering the carbon underground. Because BECCS is one of the only renewable sources that can generate baseload power around the clock, seven days a week, it can serve as the backbone of renewable power grids for when the sun isn’t shining, or the wind isn’t blowing – a role fossil fuels often fill today.

At the same time, BECCS captures post-combustion carbon at the stack and pipelines it into geologic storage, permanently securing it underground. These high-quality carbon removals are more straightforward to measure in comparison with other solutions like nature-based removals, making it much simpler to quantify the overall impact achieved.

Compared to other carbon capture technologies, BECCS also has more diversified revenue streams – including renewable power generation, government incentives for carbon storage, and the sale of carbon dioxide removals (CDR) credits to offset emissions for other companies and industries. Because of this diversification, BECCS not only provides a clearer path to profitability but also offers a high-quality CDR at a much lower price point than alternatives like direct air capture (DAC). This results in a more sustainable and scalable path to adoption.

Due to these advantages, BECCS is positioned to do much of the heavy lifting regarding carbon removals, but it doesn’t replace the need for additional carbon capture and renewable energy solutions. Technologies like DAC, while costlier to operate today, will play an important role in helping to reverse legacy emissions as well; in fact, BECCS could even power DAC facilities to ensure they’re running on renewable energy. The same is true for renewable power technologies – we need far more wind and solar capacity in addition to BECCS.

Pioneering BECCS in the US and UK

Drax believes that BECCS will be integral to decarbonizing the power sector and hard-to-abate industries. To this end, Drax has launched a new independent business unit this year that is focused on becoming the global leader in large-scale carbon removals. This business unit will oversee the development and construction of Drax’s new-build BECCS plants in the US and internationally, and it will work with a coalition of strategic partners to focus on an ambitious goal of removing at least 6 Mt of CO2 per year from the atmosphere.

Previously, Drax successfully completed two BECCS pilots at Drax Power Station, the UK’s largest power station that contributes approximately 4 percent of Britain’s generation output and 11 percent of its renewables. The Drax team is now working to outfit Drax Power Station with BECCS technology that will remove an estimated 8 Mtpa of carbon while generating 10 TWh of power. This is slated to be the first carbon-negative power station in the world and is key to achieving Drax’s goal of becoming a carbon-negative company.
Drax is also pursuing an initial target in the U.S. to have two BECCS plants built and operating by the 2030s. These will be the first large-scale, biomass-fueled power stations in North America, generating an estimated total of 4 Twh of power while sequestering approximately 6 Mt of CO2 per year.

BECCS is an essential technology to help achieve global decarbonization targets. While it doesn’t replace the need for additional carbon capture and renewable power generation alternatives, its unique advantages can help reverse carbon pollution from the past while meeting the energy demands of the future.

3 Ways BECCS Will Provide Energy Security and Reduce Carbon Emissions

1 May 2024

Opinion

By Laurie Fitzmaurice, President of Global BECCS 

When it comes to energy, the United States is caught between a proverbial rock and hard place. Projected demand for power has never been higher, with the proliferation of modern technology like AI and datacenters expected to drive consumption up exponentially. At the same time, deep emissions reductions are needed immediately to curb the impact of climate change, and experts have warned that permanent carbon removals at scale are essential to limit global warming to the 2°C tipping point for our planet.  

In February this year, I joined Drax Group as President of our new Houston-headquartered, independently operated business unit focused on delivering carbon dioxide removals and becoming a global leader in this emerging field. The new business unit will scale Drax’s ability to deliver high-quality carbon removals, which in turn offers organizations an opportunity to reduce their own carbon footprint.  

For example, in the past month Drax announced carbon removals deals with Karbon-X and C-Zero, organizations that have committed to purchasing 25,000 and 2,000 tonnes of carbon credits respectively from our planned carbon removal facilities. These companies will sell the credits on the voluntary carbon market, enabling individuals and organizations to achieve their own emissions reduction targets.   

Buyers rightfully seek confidence in their purchases; they want removals that are not only high quality but also robustly quantified and verified, and this is exactly what we are committed to delivering. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is the process of capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide (CO2) that is generated during the production of electricity from sustainable biomass. The carbon released during this process is captured and permanently stored underground – not only reducing emissions but permanently removing carbon from the atmosphere. 

As President of Drax’s new business unit focused on deploying BECCS globally, I want to share three fundamental ways that BECCS will provide energy security while reversing carbon pollution at the same time. 

1. BECCS Provides Dispatchable, Renewable Energy

Unlike other carbon removal technologies, our BECCS facilities will generate secure, reliable energy for millions of homes and businesses while removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – uniquely helping to address two of the world’s greatest challenges at the same time.  

This end-to-end process can be delivered within the U.S., providing energy independence and security by delivering renewable power around the clock, seven days a week – and unlike intermittent renewables, BECCS operates even when the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing.  

Energy demands are increasing in the U.S. and around the world, and energy systems are struggling to keep pace. From the voracious energy consumption of AI, data centers, electric vehicles, changing climates, and population movements, states and energy networks are looking at how to keep up with demand, particularly during peak periods of strain. 

This is no small task. Globally, scientists tell us it will require thousands of gigawatts of additional renewable energy capacity while removing hundreds of millions more tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere. 

And the need is now – we can’t wait. It has never been more important to diversify our sources of energy and build a system that is resilient to outside shocks. Energy grid blackouts and calls to conserve energy shouldn’t be the norm. We are at a critical moment in our industry: if we are to reliably meet the future energy needs of our global society, we need more dispatchable energy, and we need it to come from more sustainable sources. 

Drax’s ambition will help achieve just that. 

In fact, the Department of Energy recently released it’s 2023 Billion-Ton Report, which demonstrates that the U.S. could sustainably triple its production of biomass to more than 1 billion tons per year to support a robust bioeconomy. This reaffirms our position that biomass is well-positioned to meaningfully contribute to energy security and grid resilience at scale and serve as the sustainable fuel for BECCS. 

2. BECCS Permanently Removes Carbon from the Atmosphere 

At the same time, scaling up our ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere is crucial for combatting climate change and achieving Paris Agreement goals. Scientists estimate that up to 10 gigatons of CO2 will need to be permanently sequestered each year by 2050 in order to prevent catastrophic warming of our planet. So, while we need to produce more energy than ever before, we also need to capture and permanently lock up an increasing amount of CO2.  

New research published by Foresight Transitions shows that BECCS is necessary to achieve ambitious decarbonization scenarios in the U.S., and it’s critical to delivering a zero-carbon power system by 2035. Our indicative plans for our first BECCS site estimate that we can remove 3 million tonnes of CO2 annually from the atmosphere. This is realistic and deliverable – and that is just with our first plant; it’s only the beginning of what we can deliver with BECCS globally. 

Credit for the carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere from these projects can be purchased by forward thinking businesses looking to offset their emissions. This can be particularly useful for hard-to-abate sectors looking to offset residual emissions and meet net-zero targets.  

The carbon removals industry is estimated to be a $1.2 trillion opportunity by 2050.  

The market is currently trading at high prices and small volumes, but as innovation continues, scaling the industry is achievable. Some of the steps needed to scale this industry include:  

  • Stronger buyer incentives 
  • Robust standards 
  • Clear demand signals and policy measures to encourage investment 

Trading carbon removal credits on the voluntary carbon market not only supports decarbonization ambitions but also enables developers, like Drax, to scale up carbon removals – it serves a dual benefit.  

3. BECCS Supports Jobs and Skills

Drax has already delivered over $1 billion in economic impact across the United States, with plans to invest even more. Our investment in the U.S. currently supports thousands of jobs in logging, trucking, railroad and port operations across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas, and our operations in Texas will support additional new jobs. We’re also supporting the communities we’re a part of with our focus on skills, education, and nature – as well as jobs – through the creation of the Drax Foundation, giving back directly to our communities and helping to meet local needs.   

BECCS has the opportunity to create thousands more jobs across a number of industries. It’s a cost-effective solution that’s more affordable than other carbon removal technologies while also providing jobs in rural America. And by sourcing sustainable biomass from the areas where our plants will be built, BECCS will support important supply chains. 

BECCS is the only technology with the capability to generate 24/7 power, while removing carbon dioxide and permanently storing it. It can protect and create jobs, support healthy forests, and boost local and state economies. 

I couldn’t be more excited to be in this new role to tackle such vital challenges. Together with my talented colleagues, our partners, and the world’s forward-thinking businesses and governments, we’re going to make the difference the world needs.   

Learn more about our carbon removals journey by visiting www.draxcarbonremovals.com 

A prosperous future needs energy security and carbon removals – BECCS delivers both

Will Gardiner, Chief Executive Officer, Drax Group

2 April 2024

Opinion
  • Reaching net zero while delivering economic growth requires both energy security and carbon removals.
  • In the late 2020s, UK demand for energy is set to exceed secure and dispatchable supply by 5GW at peak times – leaving the country dependent on imported and intermittent sources to avoid shortages.
  • To bridge the energy security gap the Government needs to extend the lives of existing assets, including biomass and nuclear plants, and curb peak demand.
  • Drax plans to install Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) at Drax Power Station, if we secure the right support from Government this project will ensure the site continues to keep the lights on for millions of homes and businesses well into the future.
  • BECCS is a unique technology, nothing else generates renewable power while removing carbon from the atmosphere.
  • Bridging support for Drax Power Station from 2027 as a pathway to BECCS will mitigate the energy crunch and reduce dependency on intermittent generation.
  • There is a huge opportunity for carbon removals technology to assist with other industries in decarbonising, and further opportunities to reduce cost by sharing resources.
  • BECCS is only possible if we ensure high standards for carbon removals, and these standards must acknowledge the difference between engineered and natural solutions.

We all know that action is needed to tackle the global climate emergency. If we get these changes right, they will ultimately be beneficial to economies and society.

Industries of all kinds will need to reduce their CO2 emissions. While reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is vital, it is becoming clear that reductions alone are unlikely to be enough: it will also be necessary to remove GHGs from the atmosphere to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5C. Any residual emissions in hard-to-abate sectors like aviation or agriculture will require carbon removals at scale, in both a combination of nature and technology-based carbon removal solutions.

This vision of the future doesn’t have to mean low-growth economies or scarce energy supply. Instead, we can build and adapt our energy systems for a sustainable future that enables prosperous economies and thriving societies.

Today, energy systems are some of the world’s most emission-intensive sectors, though many are rapidly decarbonising. The UK has made excellent progress in delivering this, ahead of many other countries, with around 60% of its power now coming from low-carbon sources.

The continued evolution of the energy industry is also intrinsically connected to delivering carbon removals at scale.

The two primary engineered carbon removals technologies are BECCS and Direct Air Capture and Storage (DACS). DACS can remove CO2 from ambient air and then store it underground. To do so, DACS requires a low carbon source of power. BECCS, by contrast, generates power using renewable biomass that absorbs CO2 as it grows. The CO2 is then captured and stored safely and permanently underground.

Done right, they both remove more CO2 than they emit – delivering carbon removals. But BECCS’ unique capability to deliver carbon removals while generating 24/7 baseload power means it can support energy security while helping to tackle climate change.

Delivering energy security in a net zero future

As society electrifies to meet net zero, the demand for power will substantially increase. Meeting these increases will require governments to work with the private sector to deploy a range of technologies. Increasing deployment of renewables like wind and solar around the world will be vital. But these intermittent sources will need complementary technologies like short and long-term energy storage, as well as baseload power generation that can ensure energy systems remain secure and stable.

BECCS is the only renewable energy and carbon removal technology that offers the full suite of system support services. This includes a reliable, stable source of power integrated with other intermittent renewables, something that will only become more important as energy systems decarbonise.

One example of the role biomass can play in global energy solutions comes from research we commissioned from Baringa, which finds that peak demand for UK energy will increase by up to 7GW by 2027. The closure of coal, older gas, and nuclear power stations, however, will also remove up to 7GW of secure capacity from the grid. This could be further exacerbated by ongoing costly delays in new power plants such as Hinkley Point C, which is not expected to be completed until 2031. This means the percentage of ‘secure’ capacity needed to cover peak demand in the UK is projected to decrease

Recent independent analysis by Public First, reaffirms that the UK will hit an energy security “crunch point” in 2028, and the UK’s demand for power is set to exceed secure dispatchable and baseload capacity by 7.5GW. This shortfall would leave the UK more dependent on intermittent domestic and international generation.

Therefore, existing assets like Drax Power Station will be even more critical to energy security. Bridging support for Drax Power Station from 2027 until BECCS is online will reduce the risk of energy shortages and reduce dependency on overseas sources, supporting energy security and decarbonisation through the crunch.

The Government’s Powering Up Britain strategy aims to set the course for delivering the UK’s net zero and energy security ambitions. A key part of this programme is carbon removals and the development and deployment of large-scale Power BECCS by 2030.

We’ve shown at our North Yorkshire site how BECCS is ready to work within the current energy ecosystem. It’s an opportunity to utilise existing infrastructure, convert coal power stations and adapt to an energy secure, net zero future.

In January 2024, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Claire Coutinho, approved the Development Consent Order (DCO) for our plans to convert two biomass units at Drax Power Station to BECCS.

Providing the coming months see real progress in our discussions and there is swift decision making, we stand ready to invest billions to develop what will become world’s largest engineered carbon removals project at Drax Power Station.

Our plans for Power BECCS in North Yorkshire would enable us to remove up to eight million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere per year, while still generating secure, dispatchable, renewable power for millions of homes and businesses.

Without BECCS at Drax, the UK’s target of five million tonnes of carbon removals by 2030 would be difficult to achieve. The pioneering project would build on Yorkshire’s proud industrial heritage, as well as potentially delivering more than 10,000 jobs at the height of construction and position the county and the UK as leaders in the race to create and scale a technology required to capture greenhouse gas emissions.

The DCO approval is another milestone in the development of our BECCS plans and demonstrates both the continued role that Drax Power Station has in delivering UK energy security and the critical role it could have in delivering large-scale carbon dioxide removals to meet net zero targets.

It offers a model for energy security globally. While ensuring the phase-out of fossil fuels around the world, biomass offers a renewable, flexible alternative to reduce our dependency on forms of power such as coal. With BECCS, we can go further by transforming existing coal power stations from carbon emitters into carbon removers.

Decarbonisation across industries

Carbon dioxide removal technologies, like BECCS and DACS, can neutralise hard-to-abate and residual emissions across whole industrial clusters.

Furthermore, carbon removal hubs or clusters, with shared decarbonisation goals, technology, and infrastructure, offer locations where BECCS and DACS can help emissions-intensive industries decarbonise. Sharing infrastructure, like pipelines and storage locations can reduce the cost of deploying carbon removals by creating economies of scale.

Major industries like steel, cement, and chemicals, that employ millions of people around the world may only be viable in a net zero future with connections to carbon removals technologies. BECCS also offers these industries, that depend on energy-intensive processes, an alternative source of power from fossil fuels.

Baringa’s analysis found that Drax’s proposals for BECCS at Drax Power Station could save the UK up to £15bn in whole economy costs in meeting the country’s net zero goals between 2030 and 2050. It also demonstrates that without BECCS at Drax, meeting carbon reduction targets is more complicated and expensive and carbon savings would be needed in other sectors.

Research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s leading authority on climate science, also states that to tackle climate change, up to 9.5 billion tonnes of carbon removals via BECCS will be required globally per year by 2050. So as the world enters the pivotal decades to act on the climate crisis, governments around the world must take action. One idea of a decarbonisation hub is included in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which commits $3.5 billion to developing four regional Direct Air Capture Hubs.

The Inflation Reduction Act’s total $369 billion funding package focused on energy security and climate change contains a host of potential opportunities for BECCS deployment across renewable power generation, sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen.

These include a $40 billion loan fund for projects which utilise innovative technology to reduce, avoid or sequester carbon, and $140 million to create a competitive purchasing programme for carbon removals.

Furthermore, the act increases the availability of the 45Q tax credit for carbon capture and storage projects, increasing their value from $50 a tonne of carbon removals to $85 per tonne. These are all promising steps to creating the market and environment needed to deploy technologies like BECCS and DACS.

We recently announced that we’re launching a new business focused on becoming the global leader in large-scale carbon removals, which will oversee the development and construction of our new-build BECCS plants in the US. These projects, through the investment they attract and the jobs they generate, can become key economic drivers in a given region.

The global opportunity for BECCS is clear. The market for carbon removals is growing. And we want to ensure BECCS offers a high-integrity form of carbon removals that delivers permanent carbon sequestration.

Ensuring high quality carbon markets

As pioneers in the field, we’re setting the bar for carbon removal standards, ensuring quality is intrinsic to Drax’s offering. To help achieve this, we’ve partnered with Stockholm Exergi and EcoEngineers to develop a world-leading methodology to ensure the integrity of BECCS carbon removals. Our paper, ‘Corporate climate claims: The case for including permanent carbon removals’ also looks at resetting the standard on corporate claims for carbon removals. Tackling climate change while advancing sustainability is at the heart of our purpose and we’re committed to supporting organisations – especially those with hard-to-abate emissions – work towards decarbonising and reaching climate targets.

From the biomass used to fuel BECCS, to capture and transport processes, it’s imperative the carbon removed is always greater than any carbon emitted throughout the process.

Building from a sustainable base, with a high set of standards can make BECCS a transformational technology in powering the future and delivering carbon removals. No other technology can do both. BECCS can generate renewable power. BECCS can remove emissions. BECCS can deliver a prosperous, net zero future for the world.

To find out more about BECCS and how carbon removals can support your company’s decarbonisation journey, visit draxcarbonremovals.com

[POWER article] UK’s Drax eyes U.S. for bioenergy CCS expansion drive

14 March 2024

Opinion

The 2.6-GW Drax Power Station in northeastern England—once Western Europe’s largest coal-fired power plant—is poised to pioneer bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), a negative emissions technology. In a move to establish a stronghold on emerging prospects for BECCS, Drax Group has now set out to launch an independent business unit to develop and build new BECCS plants in the U.S.

The move is a remarkable step for Drax Group, a company established in 1967. After the discovery of the Selby coalfield—a deep underground resource in North Yorkshire—the UK’s state-owned Central Electricity Generating Board commissioned Drax Power Station, and the plant, comprising four 660-MW units equipped with Babcock and Wilcox subcritical boilers, was completed in 1975. The Drax plant doubled its capacity in 1986 to 4 GW, and in 1988, it pioneered flue gas desulphurization (FGD) in the UK. After a series of ownership shuffles following the privatization of the UK power sector in the 1990s, Drax Group was founded in 2005.

Read the full story on POWER