Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
10/30/2015
The Teesside Collective, a planned industrial carbon capture and storage network in the United Kingdom’s most carbon-intensive area, has picked up a new partner to take the place of founding member Sahaviriya Steel Industries’ (SSI) Redcar Steelworks, which shut down earlier this month. Industrial energy and water services provider Sembcorp Utilities U.K. will now join the industrial CCS scheme alongside BOC, Lotte Chemical UK, and GrowHow, according to an announcement this week from Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU), the local enterprise partnership that is working to develop the CCS network.
“Tees Valley has been hit hard by the closure of the SSI plant in Redcar. But it’s great to see Teesside Collective powering ahead with the addition of Sembcorp. The company’s commitment to the area is well known and I hope further plants will follow their example,” Neil Kenley, director of business investment at Tees Valley Unlimited, said in the release.
The Teesside Collective aims to outfit several high-emission industrial facilities with carbon capture and storage technology and connect them to a carbon pipeline for offshore storage under the North Sea. Four “anchor projects” had been identified at BOC, Lotte Chemical UK, SSI UK, and GrowHow. With the loss of SSI, it had been questionable if the project could move forward with only three anchors. Other involved parties include National Grid and the North East of England Process Industry Cluster. The Teesside Collective’s most recent estimates suggest that the carbon capture projects could be operational by 2024.
“We are delighted to increase our commitment to the Teesside Collective by formally joining the consortium. A large-scale carbon capture and storage initiative would make a step change in emissions reductions and could act as a magnet to further investment in the area,” Scott Taylor, assistant vice president for business development with Sembcorp Utilities U.K., said in the release.
