UK’s first industrial-scale carbon capture plant to open in 2021

Tata Chemicals Europe (TCE) has revealed more details of its industrial-scale Carbon Capture & Utilisation (CCU) plant, which will be the UK’s first.

The plant in Northwich, Cheshire, will be capable of capturing and producing up to 40,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide, according to Tata and it’s scheduled to begin carbon dioxide capture operations in 2021.

It will also mark a ‘world first’ in capturing and purifying carbon dioxide from power generation plant emission gases to use as a key raw material to manufacture high purity sodium bicarbonate, which is used in many pharmaceutical products. Tata says global demand for this grade of sodium bicarbonate is growing as more of the world’s population has access to healthcare.

The Committee for Climate Change (CCC) recently recommended the UK government should set a target of 2050 for a net-zero emissions economy and said carbon capture technology is a ‘necessity and not an option’ in order to meet that goal.

The House of Commons unanimously passed legislation to commit the UK to its new target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 earlier this week.

Commenting on the project, Chris Skidmore, Energy & Clean Growth Minister said: ‘Cutting edge technology to capture carbon will cut emissions as we work towards a net zero economy, while creating new jobs – a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy.

‘This innovative project from Tata Chemicals Europe represents a major milestone in efforts to rollout carbon capture at scale by the 2030s.’

The £16.7m project will be funded by TCE with the support of a £4.2m grant from the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through the Carbon Capture and Utilisation Demonstration (CCUD) Programme.

TCE managing director, Martin Ashcroft, added: ‘The CCU demonstration plant will enable us to reduce our carbon emissions, whilst securing supplies of a critical raw material, helping to grow the export of our products across the world.

‘Implementing this industry-leading project, with such strong environmental and operational benefits is hugely exciting, and we’re pleased to be working closely with BEIS to deliver the demonstration plant.’

Photo credit – Roger Kidd.