The magazine for oil and gas professionals in the energy transition
October 2021 – open access articles The following articles are taken from Petroleum Review magazine’s October 2021 edition for promotional purposes. For full access to the magazine, become a member of the Energy Institute by visiting www.energyinst.org/join
Energy transition
CLIMATE CHANGE
COP26 – a time for action net zero with hydrogen still in its infancy and nuclear both hugely expensive and divisive at all levels? Extreme weather events In the run-up to COP26, the science has produced another stark reminder of where we are in terms of global warming and the extreme events that are resulting from it. The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) contains a barrage of statistics which confirm global warming and its extreme consequences. For example, notes the report, in each of the last four decades, the world has been warmer than any decade that had preceded it since 1850. ‘In 2019,’ we learn that: ‘atmospheric CO2 concentrations were higher than at any time in the last two million years’. What’s more, it maintains: ‘Global temperature has increased faster since 1970 than in any other It’s nearly upon us now – the much anticipated and crucial 50-year period over at least the last 2,000 years.’ international conference on going carbon neutral. Here, Nick So how do we reverse this trend? Cottam looks at the background to COP26, its agenda and the How fast can the global economy transition away from carbonrole of the UK government in hosting, in partnership with intensive fossils and how can this Italy, the event. be done fairly for all countries, rich and poor? What further commitments can be made now hen delegates gather limit global temperature rises to for international action? These for the COP26 climate a maximum of 2°C, and ideally to are among the key questions for change summit in 1.5°C, by the end of the century. COP26 delegates, which have been Glasgow on 31 October, it will The question for delegates: How be against a sobering, arguably can this be done without wrecking preceded by Sharma’s ‘further and faster’ battle cry as he jets carboncatastrophic backdrop of extreme economies and the prospect of a intensively around the world to do weather trends and statistics. By better life for some of the world’s the groundwork for Glasgow. all accepted measures the planet most needy people? is warming and politicians, who ‘There is a clear desire among Sharma describes the IPCC frequently find it difficult to think governments to keep that 1.5°C report as the starkest warning further than next month rather in reach,’ says Alok Sharma, the yet that human behaviour is than the next decade and beyond, UK government’s COP Presidentaccelerating global warming. are expected to act now to reverse Designate. ‘The reality is we need ‘This is why COP26 has to be the this trend. to do far more in terms of action. moment we get this right,’ he says. Acting now is a tall order by any The science shows us that to keep ‘We can’t afford to wait two years, standards but, with COVID-19 still 1.5°C alive we must halve global five years, 10 years – this is the circling and the global economy emissions by 2030 and reach net moment.’ looking vulnerable in its wake, zero emissions by mid-century.’ Amid all the clamour for the task for delegates at this Energy and how to power the action and the hype surrounding latest Conference of the Parties global economy – how to transition potential solutions, COP26 has four (as it is known), hosted by the UK smoothly and affordably to a lowclear goals which seek to advance in partnership with Italy, looks carbon lifestyle – is clearly at the the now familiar but still distant particularly challenging. heart of the conundrum facing carbon neutral targets signed up to The 197 Parties, including the this year’s COP delegates. How do by the great majority of countries EU as an economic entity, are the you persuade China and Australia represented in Glasgow. signatories to the 1994 United to give up their coal? How do Nations Framework Convention you transition transport at scale Four targets Adoption of the Paris on Climate Change (UNFCC). from fossil to electric? And what The number one target for COP26 Agreement at the COP21 This, in turn, is the parent treaty really are the energy load-bearing is the need to secure global net event in 2015 to the 2015 Paris Agreement to options on the road to carbon zero by mid-century (an early Photo: UNFCCC
W
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Energy transition
Acting now is a tall order by any standards but, with COVID still circling and the global economy looking vulnerable in its wake, the task for delegates at this latest conference looks particularly challenging
UK commitment) and therefore to keep 1.5°C in reach. To do this, notes the COP preamble, the world must accelerate the phase out of coal (China and Australia take heed); curtail deforestation; speed up the switch to electric vehicles (EVs) and encourage more investment in renewables. In another recent landmark report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) concurs that 1.5°C is indeed possible, but only by taking dramatic measures. For example, notes the IEA, where the sale of EVs is currently running at around 5% of global automobile sales annually, it will need to reach 60% by 2030. Annual renewable installations, which hit a record 280 GW in 2020, will need to exceed 1,000 GW by 2030; and energy efficiency improvements will need to grow by 4% annually, about three times the present rate. In this case it is arguably no overstatement that IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol describes the 1.5°C target as the greatest challenge mankind has ever faced. Target number two for COP26 delegates is to adapt to protect communities and natural habitats. This you could say is the secondary nuts and bolts of addressing climate change and global warming. There has to be commitment to taking CO2 and other harmful gases out of the atmosphere – but the world also has to adapt. We need more resilient infrastructure; better flood defences; more robust crops; and the technology to monitor, analyse and report on the impact of human activity on climate. As Sharma notes in a foreword to COP26: ‘We must change the way we look after our land and seas and how we grow our food. This is also important if we want to protect and restore the world’s biodiversity, upon which all life depends.’ The third target, critical for delivering the first two and for turning promises into delivery, is to mobilise finance – not least the $100bn/y of climate finance deemed to be needed which was promised by rich countries back in 2009. At a time when the UK has cut its aid budget and other countries are counting their pennies in the face of COVID-19, climate change investment remains a priority in the developed world but also for those countries most in need. As Mark Carney, the UN’s Climate Change Special Envoy, said recently: ‘Sustainable finance is mainstream. Soon it will just be finance, as climate risk is turned
into the greatest commercial opportunity of our time.’ If this sounds a bit crass in the face of raging fires and communities destroyed by floods – part of a pattern of more frequent, more extreme weather events highlighted in the IPCC report – it is essential, urges Carney and others, if clean energy/climate adaptation are to be underwritten and viable in some of the most vulnerable parts of the world. The bottom line, suggests Carney, is that: ‘Governments need credible and predictable policies which incentivise the transition by providing greater certainty for investment. COP26 will clarify how donors can meet and surpass the goal of mobilising the target of providing $100bn a year for developing economies.’ The fourth and final target for COP is to get countries to collaborate better, notably as they finalise the Paris rulebook which is designed to set course for that 1.5°C target, and agreeing how to accelerate the actions needed to get there. Can President Biden’s US, for example, take leadership on this issue? Can countries such as China, India, Russia, Australia and Brazil be persuaded to come up with credible commitments and policies to cut emissions? And can COP shame rich countries into honouring the as yet unmet pledge of £100bn/y in climate finance for the developing world? UK leadership In its COP Presidency role, the UK has been keen to show leadership and the Johnson government has taken every opportunity to trumpet achievements to date. ‘The UK is leading the way,’ notes Sharma. ‘Over the last 30 years British governments have grown our economy by 78% while cutting emissions by 44%.’ He adds: ‘In 2012 40% of our electricity came from coal. That figure is now less than 2%.’ The emerging dominance of services over manufacturing and an abundance of offshore wind has undoubtedly helped. So too, you could argue, has the growth in carbon offsetting and a reluctance to count carbonintensive imports in the UK’s contribution to global warming. That said, this country continues to set robust climate change targets and introduce the policies and rules to meet them. The UK, Sharma reminds us, was the first country to pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 78% by 2035 and to completely phase out coal power by 2024.
While Paris was a landmark COP for agreeing the 1.5°C target, Glasgow has to produce its own landmark agreements on how to get there. With no meeting last year because of the pandemic, countries have an obligation, as agreed in Paris, to provide a fiveyear update on their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to cutting emissions. This is the prime reason for all those Sharma air miles prior to the event – NDCs must add up to international agreement and action. Laggards like Brazil and China must agree to improve their performance. Over the 11 days of the conference there will be 190 world leaders and thousands of negotiators trying to ensure the conference produces achievable, agreed actions to cut global carbon emissions in line with that overriding 1.5°C target. In the UK, as in other countries, national targets have been to develop carbon cutting programmes at individual sector and local level. There are some ambitious targets, for example, for supporting net zero in the North Sea as part of the North Sea Transition Deal, a partnership between the UK government and trade association Oil & Gas UK. These targets include cutting production emissions by 50% by 2030, investing up to £3bn in carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) and supporting the scaling up of low-carbon hydrogen production. Further afield, UK government minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who is also the government’s International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP26 presidency, has announced the formation of a new Adaptation Research Alliance which will be launched at the summit. Research into climate adaptation, she notes, needs to be locally driven and responsive to local needs. ‘In my role, I am acutely aware of the need to listen to and work with countries on the frontline of climate change to drive forward global action on adaptation to the impacts and avert, minimise and address loss and damage,’ said Trevelyan. If ever there was an occasion for turning words into actions, it is COP26. ●
Petroleum Review | October 2021 15
Europe
ENERGY POLICY
E
uropean energy experts say the European Union (EU)’s latest green energy targets within a new climate law to cut carbon emissions at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels will be challenging but achievable. It is a significant steepening of ambition compared to the EU’s existing legislation, which aims to reduce emissions by at least 32.5% by 2030 from 1990 levels. Industry associations say they are also keen to meet an EU climate neutrality-by-2050 goal, with the European Association for Electromobility (AVERE) saying this target is an ‘existential necessity’. However, this is a later deadline than the 2040 date called for by environmental organisations such as the European Environmental Bureau. There is less confidence, however, that the EU will make a 90% cut in transport emissions target by 2030 and phase-out of new internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles by 2035. European automobile associations, including AVERE, say this would need real improvement in renewable energy expansion, increased recharging infrastructure and investment in e-mobility technologies.
Fit for 55 The latest proposals for a 55% cut in CO2 emissions by 2030 came in the European Commission’s (EC) ‘Fit for 55’ package of proposals announced in July this year. These include tougher rules for the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS); increased use of renewable energy; greater energy efficiency; a faster roll-out of lowemission transport modes; and an 16 Petroleum Review | October 2021
Going greener The EU’s green energy targets are achievable, but major investments are required, write Liz Newmark and Poorna Rodrigo. alignment of taxation policies with environmental policy, notably new exemptions for renewable and alternative fuels, and measures to prevent carbon leakage. According to the EC’s climate and energy spokesperson Tim McPhie, the EU executive is ‘confident’ the EU can deliver on its targets that were originally outlined in the European Green Deal strategy released in December 2019. ‘Since 1990, emissions have fallen by around 25% in Europe, while our economy has grown by over 60%. The policy framework that needs to deliver our 55% emission reductions for 2030 is already largely in place.’ He also notes that a new €72bn Social Climate Fund could be used to support renewable energy and charging infrastructure. Echoing AVERE’s comment, McPhie adds: ‘While we have had success in other areas, transport is a challenging area to decarbonise, with emissions rising
A special meeting of the European Council, in Brussels, the EU’s top decision-making body – which agreed the latest strategy on fighting climate change within Europe Photo: European Commission/ Etienne Ansotte
in recent years.’ However, given transport accounts for 20–25% of emissions, he continues: ‘We have to act, setting new CO2 emissions standards for cars and vans, leading progressively to a situation where only zero-emissions new vehicles can be sold in Europe from 2035.’ The good news is that the EU market for electric vehicles (EVs) has tripled compared to 2019, with over 1mn cars registered, according to McPhie. ‘To meet demand from drivers, the Commission is legislating to increase the number of charging points across Europe… with targets for the distance between charging stations on major European highways.’ As many cars already on the road will remain in circulation beyond 2035, the EC is also introducing ‘an ETS for road transport fuels, meaning fuel suppliers have to pay for the emissions they will put on the market’, McPhie notes. ‘This will incentivise them to decarbonise their fuels and bring down compliance costs.’ All technologies needed Meanwhile, EU refining industry association FuelsEurope’s Communication Director Alain Mathuren says that although a transport ETS and plans to include growing emissions within the system ‘will bring a welcome element of carbon pricing, it will also generate a cost for fuels’ customers on top of existing fuels taxation’. He argues that insufficient attention has been given to ‘sustainable and renewable fuels’ in the vehicles’ CO2 regulation. ‘Electrification and hydrogen will play a critical role in the decarbonisation of road transport, but all technologies, including lowcarbon liquid fuels, will be required to achieve climate neutrality.’ By 2050, every litre of liquid fuel could be net climate neutral given the right investment, according to Mathuren. Some €30–40bn would be needed between 2020 and 2030, including the creation of advanced biofuel and e-fuel plants; and €400–650bn by 2050, enabling the availability of 150mn toe lowcarbon liquid fuels, he says. The automotive industry in general is ‘already delivering an ever-expanding range of electrified vehicles which are being bought in ever greater numbers’, according to the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). As a result, ‘maintaining
Europe
a strong and competitive market that ensures the shift to electrified vehicles is affordable for all’ is crucial. That said, the goal of achieving net zero emissions through EVs cannot rely solely on automotive manufacturers, notes the Association. Massive investment in recharging infrastructure is needed, and at an accelerated pace for which ‘we still await a plan and equally ambitious targets’. Powering positivity Other sectors are more positive. ‘The transformation of the power sector is real and on fast forward,’ says Kristian Ruby, Managing Director of European electricity industry federation Eurelectric. ‘We are committed to fully decarbonise the electricity mix well before 2050 and help end-use sectors like heating and cooling, transport and industries to decarbonise. In 2020, 60% of the EU’s electricity was already carbon neutral, and within a decade this share will reach 80%.’ To deliver the 2030 target, 500 GW more renewable energy will be needed, almost half the total EU current capacity. ‘To get there, we need to tackle the remaining barriers – solve the permitting issues, provide long-term investment certainty, strengthen the EU ETS and ensure a level playing field with other energy carriers,’ says Ruby. Streamlining the current slow and complex permit granting procedure for green energy is a key necessary reform, he adds. Eurelectric also wants a 50–70% increase in spending on electricity distribution grids to upgrade and modernise networks, helping integrate additional renewable capacity and supporting the electrification of transport, buildings and industries. Ruby says the EC’s €17.5bn Just Transition Fund is ‘a good start’ in investment, but its Modernisation Fund, helping the lower-income member states of Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia (the Czech Republic), Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania
Transport is a key focus for EU policies promoting green innovation – pictured here is the Sankta Maria solarelectric ferry which was developed with co-funding from the EU’s Interreg programme Photo: European Union/JeanChristophe Verhaegen
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the June 2021 G7 meeting in Cornwall, UK, where a united effort to fight climate change was an agenda priority Photo: European Commission/ Tim Ireland
and Slovakia upgrade their energy systems, should also be reinforced and prioritised in future long-term EU budgets. Bronagh O’Hagan, Communications Director for Eurogas, representing European gas wholesale, retail and distribution sectors, agrees that the EC’s energy goals are achievable and that gas can help. She reports that a Pathways analysis by Eurogas and DNV suggests that optimising the role of gas could cut EU carbon reduction transition costs by €4.1tn by 2050. O’Hogan adds that the EU gas sector was committed to deliver a carbon neutral gas sector already by 2045, noting: ‘Incorporating renewable and low carbon gases into networks is a quick and costeffective way to do that.’ Eurogas is also calling for binding 2030 targets to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of gas consumed by at least 20% and to increase the share of renewable gas to at least 11% of gas consumed, she says. The organisation also wants more investment and better recognition of carbon capture and storage (CCS), development of hydrogen infrastructure and the repurposing of existing methane networks. Representing the renewables sector, European wind industry association WindEurope’s Communications Manager Christoph Zipf welcomes the ‘Fit for 55’ package as ‘a crucial step to deliver on Europe’s climate commitments’. But to meet the EC’s ambitious goal to raise the renewable energy target from 32% to 40% by 2030, he estimates: ‘The EU will need to install 30 GW of new wind farms every year between now and 2030, or 451 GW of wind power capacity by 2030, up from 180 GW today, so we need to double the annual installations.’ He believes this is achievable, with projected onshore wind prices falling to €33/MWh by 2030, a 28% cut compared to today. Offshore wind costs could decrease 44% to €48/MWh and floating offshore wind costs by 65% to €64/MWh over the same period, he adds. Like Eurelectric, Zipf notes that permitting rules are too complex, lengthy and burdensome. Ultimately, ‘an accelerated expansion of wind energy is not a question of technology, cost or finance’ but of ‘administrative reforms and political willingness’, he says. Transport targets Meanwhile, the European Automobile Manufacturers’
Association (ACEA) says its members support climate neutrality, investing ‘billions of euros in innovative and sustainable technologies’. However, the Association argues the 55% by 2030 CO2 reduction target for cars, based on 2021 levels, will be very challenging, requiring a corresponding binding target for member states to build up the required charging and refuelling infrastructure. ACEA President and BMW CEO Oliver Zipse, referring to the goal of getting petrol and diesel cars off roads by 2035, states that ‘banning a single technology’ is not a rational way forward to climate neutrality: ‘It is not the internal combustion engine that is detrimental to the environment, but fossil-based fuels,’ he says. However, AVERE disagrees, saying ‘combustion fossil vehicles’ should be phased out earlier, by 2030. ‘The mass uptake of electromobility is key to achieve the EU’s target of 90% reduction in transport emissions,’ says its Communication Manager Lorenzo Marchese. Tax incentives, training programmes and investment in battery technologies can help, adds Marchese, emphasising that with the right backing and cooperation, ‘the transition to renewables and electric transport will be not only fully viable but also economically convenient, creating jobs in growing sectors like wind and solar’. One measurement of the EU record will be reviewing it against the UK. Following the UK’s exit from the EU as of 1 January 2021 (‘Brexit’), the UK government has published an ambitious planned target of reducing emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels, which Ellen Jennings of Energy UK characterises as the ‘most ambitious emissions reduction targets of any major economy’. As for how such goals might be achieved, Jennings says as well as attracting the ‘billions of pounds of investment that will be needed’, focusing on maintaining ‘security of supply and keeping costs down for consumers’ are important too. That will certainly be needed to secure UK government commitments under its Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution published in November 2020, which includes increasing UK offshore wind capacity to 40 GW by 2030, delivering 5 GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity and removing 10mn t/y of CO2 using CCS, also by 2030, she concludes. ●
Petroleum Review | October 2021 17
Energy transition
EMISSIONS REDUCTION
Negative emissions could have a vital role to play in tackling the climate crisis, suggests Will Gardiner, CEO, Drax Group.
Negativity can be positive A
Drax is planning to use bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) at its Selby power station in North Yorkshire to create what it claims will be the world’s biggest carbon capture in power project, capturing up to 8mn t/y of CO2 by 2030 Photo: Drax Group
nyone who saw the stark warnings delivered by the climate scientists at the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently will know that the world is not doing enough to combat the global climate emergency. Its report made for grim reading. But we can’t allow ourselves to become disheartened – instead, we need to double-down on our efforts to go further and do more to bring forward the technologies which will support the global efforts to decarbonise. Climate science is clear – if average temperatures rise more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the impact will be catastrophic. The UK government has set very ambitious targets to reduce emissions, with plans to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. Others are following suit, with US President Joe
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Biden announcing an ambitious 2030 emissions target and new Nationally Defined Contributions (NDCs) as part of his Leaders’ Summit on Climate earlier this year. Although reducing emissions will be key to achieving the 1.5°C target, reducing emissions can only prevent further warming. As a result, we need to start removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
the atmosphere by 2050 using negative emissions technologies in order for the UK to reach its legally binding net zero target. However, a recent report by the newly-formed Coalition for Negative Emissions (CNE; of which Drax is a founding member) found that if action isn’t taken now to scale up negative emissions solutions, we are on track to miss our climate targets within a decade. According to the report, more than 1 Gt/y of negative emissions would be needed by 2025 to avoid irreversible climate damage. To put that into perspective, it is equivalent to removing more than twice the UK’s annual CO2 emissions each year for the next four years – which we are nowhere near achieving at the moment.
The role of negative emissions It is widely recognised by leading climate scientists at both the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the UN IPCC that negative emissions technologies are vital to global efforts to combat the climate crisis, because they don’t just reduce emissions, but can permanently remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The CCC’s Sixth Carbon Budget found that around 58mn tCO2/y would need to be removed from
Utilising negative emissions solutions Whilst there is no silver bullet or single technology that will fix the climate problem, there are costeffective solutions that are ready to be deployed now and together will make a significant impact. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), direct air capture and storage (DACS), and natural climate solutions (such as afforestation) are each capable of delivering at least 1 Gt/y of carbon
Energy transition
removals globally according to the CNE report. When used alongside emissions reductions strategies, these negative emissions solutions are considered essential because they can help to offset emissions from other, difficult to decarbonise sectors like agriculture and aviation, and deliver the results the climate needs. Creating the right support framework In order to get BECCS and DACS projects underway, governments must develop and deliver the investment frameworks needed to create a new and enduring negative emissions sector. Over the last 10 years the introduction of similar policy has incentivised investment and transformed the UK’s energy system. Supportive UK government policies for technologies like offshore wind saw the country lead the world in creating a whole new industry, attracted significant investment, created thousands of jobs and decarbonised its electricity system faster than any other nation. Negative emissions solutions are still in their infancy, but with similar support from government over the coming decade the UK could replicate the same success whilst supporting its carbon targets, clean growth and jobs, and also creating export opportunities. What could support look like? The UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has outlined several key factors to consider in assessing how to make carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) economically viable. One of the primary needs for a CCUS business model is to instil confidence in investors – by creating a policy framework that encourages investment in innovative new technologies that reduce risk and inspire new entrants into the market. The cost of developing a CCUS project should also be fairly distributed amongst contributing parties, ensuring that costs to consumers/taxpayers are minimised, as well as ensuring value for money. However, currently there is no mechanism to support negative emissions in the energy or carbon markets. Current carbon pricing mechanisms are not set up to support the investment needed for early deployment of negative emissions projects, or in the timeframe required to keep the
UK on track to meet its 2050 net zero goal. A report from Frontier Economics, commissioned by Drax, looked at the various models that could be deployed to support negative emissions. It found that a new hybrid contract for difference (CfD)/carbon payment would be the best option because it would give investors the confidence to invest in this nascent industry. It would also allow time for current carbon pricing legislation to be amended – supporting the creation of a market-based approach for negative emissions and potentially removing the need for future subsidies. Delivering BECCS at Drax At Drax, we are planning to use BECCS at our Selby power station in North Yorkshire to create the world’s biggest carbon capture in power project. Once up and running in 2027 it would capture millions of tonnes of CO2 every year, permanently locking it away deep under the North Sea, whilst also generating renewable electricity for millions of homes across the UK. We began our first BECCS trial back in 2018, the first project of its kind in Europe. Now, after a further successful trial, we have started the planning application process to build two BECCS units at the power station. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has been selected as our technology partner to deliver BECCS – a significant milestone in moving the project forwards from being merely an ambition. Once planning consent is granted, work to build the BECCS units could get underway, with the first unit up and running by 2027 and the second operating by 2030, collectively capturing at least 8mn t/y of CO2. Drax would then become a carbon negative company – permanently removing more CO2 from the atmosphere than is generated right across our operations. BECCS won’t just deliver for the climate, it can also deliver for the UK economy. A recent report by energy consultancy Baringa found that deploying BECCS at Drax could save the UK over £13bn in reaching its climate targets over the coming decade. Not only that, but it would support around 17,000 jobs during the peak of construction in 2028, including roles in construction, local supply chains and the wider economy. The BECCS plant would also act as an anchor project for the Zero Carbon Humber initiative, which aims to create the world’s first
net zero industrial cluster. The Humber is the UK’s most carbon intensive industrial region – so developing a CCUS and hydrogen industrial cluster here would have a significant impact on the UK’s efforts to cut carbon whilst spearheading the creation and support of around 100,000 jobs.
Drax aims to be a carbon negative company – permanently removing more CO2 from the atmosphere than is generated right across its operations – by 2030 Photo: Drax Group
Taking a global approach The opportunities are not just limited to the UK. The climate crisis is a global issue and negative emissions technologies will need to be rolled out across the world. Drax is already exploring options to roll out BECCS globally, looking at options alongside engineering, construction and project management specialist Bechtel. The joint study will focus on strategically important regions, including North America and Western Europe, as well as reviewing how to optimise the design of a BECCS plant using state-of-the-art engineering to maximise efficiency, performance and cost. A further partnership with Swedish-based Phoenix BioPower, exploring how energy-efficient gas turbines could make newbuild BECCS projects more cost effective, is also underway as part of our long-term innovation programme. Seizing the opportunity Negative emissions technologies like BECCS are available now and have the potential to be a cornerstone of the global green economy. The National Infrastructure Commission recently said negative emissions technologies could kickstart a whole new industrial revolution in the UK, creating and protecting thousands of jobs and putting the country at the forefront of ground-breaking, environmentally friendly technologies. As the world looks to COP26 in Glasgow, the UK has an opportunity to show global leadership in support of these new green technologies. ● Petroleum Review | October 2021 23
