CCS network developing at Teesside

Funded by government, this work will take account of existing work on industrial CCS financing, storage and regulation

Pöyry Management Consulting, an international consulting and engineering company, have been commissioned to develop a financially viable industrial Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) network.

Pöyry will develop the Hybrid Incentive Model, as well as a regulatory regime to manage the system. The investment mechanism was one of the financing options presented by Teesside Collective, a cluster of energy-intensive industries, in the Blueprint for Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage in the UK report, published in 2015. Funded by government, this work will take account of existing documented work on industrial CCS financing, storage and regulation.

Teesside Collective is working to establish one of Europe’s first clean industrial zones. Its financing work comes as the government formulates its policy on decarbonisation in light of November’s cancellation of funding for CCS in the power sector.

A policy review by the Parliamentary Advisory Committee in September found that energy-intensive industries represent some of the cheapest available carbon reduction in the UK economy. The report recommended the development of CCS hubs for the economic regeneration of industrial centres, and that CCS infrastructure should initially be state-owned and financed.

Neil Kenley, director of business investment at Tees Valley Combined Authority, said: “CCS uses proven technologies, being used around the world, its main challenge is financing. Teesside Collective’s Hybrid Incentive Model for Industrial CCS is intended to kick-start investment in shared infrastructure. We are determined to make this a reality and achieve lowest cost decarbonisation for the UK.”

The financial mechanism work follows a separate contract to design a carbon capture plant which could decarbonise the soft drink bottle supply chain in Teesside, as well as a demonstration centre on the Wilton site to provide a base for bringing carbon capture and utilisation technology to market.