CO2 capture pipeline gets go ahead in northwest England

A new build carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline has been granted a development consent order by the government as part of HyNet North West project in northwest England.

The eventual complete pipeline, to be comprised of both new and existing pipelines, is planned to transport CO2 from capture plants across the northwest of England and North Wales to permanent storage in depleted natural gas reservoirs located under the seabed off the port of Liverpool.

About 125km in extent, including associated spurs, it will run between Ince to the southeast of Liverpool in Cheshire and Talacre Beach in North Wales.

From there the CO2 would be transported via a repurposed existing natural gas import pipeline to new and existing offshore platforms for injection to the seabed reservoirs.

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“This decision marks a significant step towards establishing a significant new industry for the country,” commented Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, HyNet’s CO2 transportation and storage operator.

“We welcome the UK Government’s ambition to promote and develop the kind of groundbreaking projects we need to address climate change, especially within hard-to-abate sectors. Carbon Capture will play a critical role in meeting this challenge by safely eliminating emissions from industries that currently do not have equally efficient and effective solutions.”

The HyNet project is aimed towards the decarbonisation of industry in northwest England and North Wales with the delivery of low carbon hydrogen for industry, transportation and heating and the capture and storage of industrially generated CO2.

It is anticipated that HyNet should reduce the amount of CO2 emitted from across the region by a quarter starting in the mid-2020s.

After the granting of the development consent order, several industries have marked milestones with the signing of ‘statements of principles’ with the government for the development of carbon capture plants, becoming ‘firsts’ in Britain in their respective areas.

These are building material manufacturer Heidelberg Materials for a plant at its Padeswood cement works in North Wales, resource recovery and recycling business Viridor for a plant at its Runcorn electricity from waste facility and energy from waste operator Encyclis for a plant at its Protos facility currently under construction near Ellesmere Port.

With statements of principles, these companies can now engage with the government in final contract negotiations.

More than 40 organisations are reported to have signed up to decarbonise through HyNet.