BP, Eni, Equinor, Shell and Total have formed a consortium with BP as operator to accelerate the development of the Net Zero Teesside project, previously known as the Clean Gas Project.
The groups will work with government and local stakeholders, including the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority, to deliver the ‘zero carbon cluster’. The partners say that, with the right government support, the project could be in operation by the mid-2020s.
Net Zero Teesside has also announced signed memorandums of understanding with three existing industrial partners to demonstrate the strong local commitment to decarbonising existing local industry.
The project involves a transport and storage system that will gather industrial CO2, compress it and store it safely in a reservoir under the North Sea. A CCGT power plant with carbon capture technology will provide low carbon power as a complement to renewable energy sources and underpin the investment in the infrastructure.
Pratima Rangarajan, CEO of OGCI Climate Investments, said: “Net Zero Teesside is a demonstration of OGCI’s commitment to accelerating CCUS on a global scale. It’s the anchor project.”
Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Mayor, said: “Net Zero Teesside represents the next step in our ambitions for Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool to become a pioneer in clean energy, driving almost half a billion pounds into the regional economy and boosting the wider UK by £3.2billion. This world-leading industrial-scale decarbonisation project will safeguard and create 5,500 good quality, well paid jobs for local people. It will act as a beacon for new technologies and further investment as other companies are attracted to our area, while helping the UK achieve its clean energy potential.”
Net Zero Teesside would be the first major development to be based on the South Tees Development Corporation site. The launch comes just days after the Tees Valley Mayor struck a deal to secure the land at the former SSI steelworks site and bring it back into public ownership, ready for future redevelopment.
More on the project here
Further reading
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