Drax is to explore a tie-up with the developers of the Viking carbon capture and storage (CCS) project which could see an additional route for sequestering biomass emissions.
In its annual results update on Thursday the energy firm (LON:DRX) said it had recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Harbour Energy and BP to “assess options for transportation and storage of CO2”.
It’s understood the agreement covers early feasibility studies on how the nearby Drax Power Station could connect into Viking pipeline infrastructure around the Humber.
Led by operator Harbour, Viking aims to capture emissions from across the south Humber region, the UK’s most industrialised area. Emissions from the cluster’s industrial partners would then be transported by pipeline and stored in the depleted Viking gas fields in the southern North Sea, via the Theddlethorpe terminal.
Once operational, Viking is expected to be one of the largest CCS projects in the world, aiming to capture and store up to 10m tonnes of CO2 a year by 2030.
© Supplied by Viking CCSDrax is already a partner in the East Coast Cluster scheme – set to tie into the BP-led Northern Endurance storage reservoir to the northeast – but a potential link to Viking would open up additional options to offload CO2.
Meanwhile the energy group is pushing ahead plans for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) at its power station site at nearby Selby, by installing post-combustion capture technology on two power generating assets.
It intends to complete its first unit – capable of capturing 4 million tonnes pf CO2 per year – by 2030 followed by an equal-sized second unit by 2035.
Planning consent for the scheme has been granted, but government is still consulting on a possible extension of bridging subsidies for the plant to enable operations between 2027-2030.
Richard Gwilliam, Drax Group’s UK BECCS Programme Director, said: “Viking CCS has a compelling vision for delivering the decarbonisation of the Humber. Their plans could facilitate significant investment into the region, create thousands of new highly skilled green jobs and ensure that the Humber continues to play an important long-term role in supporting the UK’s energy security.
“We are excited about working with Viking CCS through this new MoU which will explore how BECCS at Drax Power Station could connect to their pipeline.
“BECCS is currently the only credible large-scale technology that can generate renewable power and deliver carbon removals.”
Viking’s developers last month awarded a front end engineering and design (FEED) for the project contract to Technip Energies.
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