Equinor takes FID on key CCS projects in northern UK
By on January 14, 2025
Teesside and Humber clusters to feature low-emission hydrogen, ammonia
Click to learn more. Equinor has taken FID on two of the UK’s first-ever CCS projects, including CO2 capture, transportation, and storage infrastructure to link industry with offshore sequestration sites in the North Sea. Source: Equinor.
Equinor has taken Final Investment Decision on two of the UK’s first-ever CCS projects: the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) and Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power). CO2 capture, transportation, and storage infrastructure (particularly pipelines) will link industrial clusters on the shores of the Tees and Humber Rivers in northeast England to offshore sequestration sites, opening up a range of decarbonisation options for local industry.
Click to enlarge. CCS infrastructure near the Humber River will link hydrogen and ammonia production at the Saltend Chemicals Park with offshore sequestration sites. Source: Northern Endurance Partnership.
Although CF Industries decided in mid-2023 to permanently close its Billingham ammonia production plant on the Tees River (fertiliser and nitric acid production continues based on imported ammonia), Yara currently produces ammonia at the Saltend Chemicals Park near Hull, which will be connected to the planned CO2 transportation pipeline along the Humber River. Adjacent to the Saltend Chemicals Park will be Equinor’s H2H Saltend, a CCS-based hydrogen production facility that will produce low-emission hydrogen for consumption by adjacent industries (including Triton’s 1.2 GW gas turbine power station that provides power and steam for the Chemicals Park).
It is a major milestone to have agreed Final Investment Decision and financial close on two of the UK’s first carbon capture, transport and storage infrastructure projects. This demonstrates how the industry, alongside the UK Government, have progressed a business model for new power supply and carbon capture, transport and storage services to decarbonise the most carbon intensive region in the UK. We look forward to continued collaboration with our partners and the UK Government as we prepare to progress the projects, with an estimated operational date from 2028 onwards.
Irene Rummelhoff, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Midstream and Processing at Equinor in her organisation’s official press release, 11 Dec 2024
Equinor expects to commence construction in mid-2025, with start-up in 2028. Infrastructure will include onshore CO2 compression facilities, a 145km offshore transportation pipeline, and subsea injection and monitoring facilities for the Endurance saline aquifer located around 1km below the seabed. The project could transport and store up to 4 million tons of captured carbon dioxide each year (initially from three Teesside sites), rising to an average of up to 23 million tons per year by 2035.
Net Zero Teesside Power will be a new, first-of-a-kind gas-fired power plant with CCS, with a generation capacity up to 742 MW. Technip Energies and GE Vernova will construct and deliver the NZT Power plant, supported by Balfour Beatty and Shell Catalysts & Technologies. bp and TotalEnergies are the other key stakeholders in the CCS projects, with bp to assume operatorship for both Net Zero Teesside Power and the Northern Endurance Partnership.