Renewable energy company Evero has confirmed today (October 8) that its two Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects have both passed the “deliverability assessment” in the UK Government’s Hynet Track 1 expansion process.
This lays the foundation for the delivery of two large volume Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGR) facilities operational by 2030. The news follows the government giving the go ahead for a £22 billion investment into CCS, including the Hynet cluster, on October 4.
Both projects are a retrofit of Carbon Capture and Storage – on the existing Ince Biopower plant located near Ellesmere Port and the Mersey Bioenergy plant located near Widnes. The plants already process over 300,000 tonnes of locally sourced waste wood, which might otherwise go into landfill, into renewable electricity. With the addition of the CCS plants the assets will generate as much as 400,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide Removals (CDRs) per annum.
Simon Hicks, CEO of Evero, said: “We’re delighted that the UK government has recognised the quality of our CCS projects. They are of long-term environmental importance to the UK’s commitment to meeting our Net Zero targets, removing over 400,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year once both plants are operational by 2030.
“Evero’s BECCS (Bio Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage) projects will prove that GGRs from Biomass is deliverable. Our approach is considered the most sustainable form of BECCS, through the use of locally sourced waste wood feedstock. It’s a process that can be repeated across all the UK’s waste wood fuelled renewable electricity plants, with a total CO2 removal potential of 3.6 million tons per annum.
“At Evero, we are delivering on our promise to be forever capturing carbon. This is a crucial milestone in the delivery of that promise and we look forward to contributing to the unlocking of a low carbon future across the north west of the UK. Well done to all our teams and partners in getting us to this stage.”
The UK government has a target of 5Mtpa of GGRs by 2030, and 23Mtpa from 2035.
Olivia Powis, CEO, Carbon Capture and Storage Association, said “It’s fantastic news that Evero’s Ince and Mersey Greenhouse Gas Removal projects have passed the deliverability assessment. Evero’s projects hit an important milestone for the development of the GGR sector in the UK.
“We now need to see equal progress from the government on the Greenhouse Gas Removal business model, so that these such projects can be deployed at sufficient pace to contribute to the target of 5 million tons of GGRs by 2030.”
Julia Turner, Executive Director of the Wood Recyclers’ Association, commented: “The success of this project will be an important pathfinder for the sector. Waste wood is a great example of the Circular Economy in Action and this material would otherwise be destined for landfill or non-domestic markets.”
Image: Render of the carbon capture plant retrofitted onto existing Ince Biopower facility