Emissions network benefits
TEESSIDE’S heavy industries say a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) network could keep them globally competitive as EU emissions targets loom.
PICCSI, the Process Industry Carbon Capture and Storage Initiative, will gauge the vast economic benefits of a CCS network on Teesside.
Key companies, including AMEC, BOC, GrowHow, Huntsman, Ineos Nitriles, Lucite, Sembcorp, SABIC and px Limited, have joined forces for the study.
The group is warning that if the cost to industry of a carbon taxation system increases, Teesside’s process industries will need to cut emissions cost effectively to stay competitive.
A CCS network would not only pipe carbon emissions from its own power station out to natural deep sea voids, but also those of the heaviest emitters on Teesside.
Companies claim it will be beneficial to link power generation CCS schemes to an industrial network, allowing costs of collection and disposal to be shared.
Stan Higgins, chief executive of North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC), which is co-ordinating the study, said second-stage projects such as Enhanced Oil Recovery would make the technology even more viable.
“Carbon will become a commodity, like in other parts of the world, where it has become a valuable product in its own right,” he said.
“A CCS project on Teesside would take something that’s completely useless and turn it into something of value.”
The PICCSI work, he added, would complement regional power generation projects on the table including Rio Tinto Alcan’s Lynemouth plant, Progressive Energy and a gas-fired power station option for Teesside.
