Global oil and gas major bp plc and waste management major SUEZ Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the feasibility of the UK’s first carbon capture and storage project from energy-from-waste (EfW). The Net Zero Teesside Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) project plans to capture up to 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
According to a statement, the agreement paves the way for SUEZ to develop a solution to capture the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from one of four energy-from-waste (EfW) facilities it operates in the Teesside area.
Once captured, the CO2 will be supplied to the bp led Net Zero Teesside CCUS project, to be transported and permanently stored in a geological storage site beneath the North Sea.
We’re proud to be working with bp and Net Zero Teesside on this project that would be the first of its kind in the United-Kingdom. This Memorandum of Understanding illustrates the Group’s ability to implement a true collaborative innovation approach with our clients and to take concrete action contributing to reducing their carbon footprints. SUEZ is once again demonstrating its commitment to support its major industrial customers in their transformation strategy to face challenges of energy consumption and climate change, said Ana Giros, EVP SUEZ in charge of the APAC (Asia-Pacific, Australia, Caribean) and AMECA (Africa, Middle East, Central Asia) Regions and Industrial Markets & Key Accounts.
Over the past two decades, the UK waste sector has achieved a huge reduction in its emission profile, with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions down by 69 percent from 1990.
With the final move of biodegradable waste away from landfills, for England planned for 2030, there is renewed focus on increased recycling and waste prevention and on continuing to reduce the carbon footprint of managing residual waste.
We look forward to working with SUEZ as it aims to achieve a world-first with the scale-up of carbon capture technologies and application to an Energy from Waste facility. Capturing and storing these emissions will contribute to a net reduction in carbon without any negative environmental impact. The project aligns closely with the strategic objectives of bp, the NZT project, and with the UK Government’s net-zero commitment, and is another demonstration of our commitment to work with local industry to help them decarbonise, said Andy Lane, Managing Director for Net Zero Teesside.
Solvent-based system
The SUEZ Group will harness their combined expertise in EfW and CO2 separation systems to develop a solvent-based modular system to capture CO2 from EfW flue gas emissions.
The commercial-scale demonstration carbon capture plant is planned to be developed at the company’s Tees Valley (Lines 1 and 2) facility at Haverton Hill on Teesside. The project is intended to remove 90 percent of fossil and biogenic CO2 emissions from the EfW plant, leading to it becoming carbon negative.
The successful implementation of the project will enable the large-scale rollout of the carbon capture solution across SUEZ Group’s EfW portfolio and to other industrial emitters located within carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) hubs worldwide.
Furthermore, SUEZ says it marks a major step in the achievement of the Group’s 2030 sustainability commitments:
- Reduce by 45 percent the direct and indirect GHG emissions from company activities by 2030;
- Help clients avoid 20 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year by 2030;
- Offer 100 percent sustainable solutions for customers.
The Group has positioned waste-to-energy as one of the pillars of its development and continues to accelerate its strategic plan “Shaping SUEZ 2030” by demonstrating its expertise in this field, said Ana Giros.
