Oil giants come together for Teeside net-zero cluster

A major consortium of companies including BP and Shell will help Teeside become the ‘UK’s first’ net-zero cluster.

Announced today (February 28) in Middlesborough, the group will work to accelerate the the Net Zero Teesside project, previously known as the Clean Gas Project.

BP, Eni, Equinor, Shell and Total are the companies involved, bringing experience of carbon capture, utilisation and storage technology. They say they are committed to working closely with the UK government and local stakeholders, including the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority.

The project aims to decarbonise local industry by building a transportation and storage system to gather industrial CO2, compress it and store it safely in a reservoir under the North Sea. They believe the transportation and storage infrastructure will encourage new investment in the region from industries that wish to store or use CO2.

In addition, a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) facility with carbon capture technology will provide low carbon power as a complement to renewable energy sources and underpin the investment in the infrastructure.

They believe the project, with government support, could be up and running within five years.

Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Mayor, said: ‘Net Zero Teesside represents the next step in our ambitions for Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool to become a pioneer in clean energy, driving almost half a billion pounds into the regional economy and boosting the wider UK by £3.2bn.

‘This world-leading industrial-scale decarbonisation project will safeguard and create 5,500 good quality, well-paid jobs for local people. It will act as a beacon for new technologies and further investment as other companies are attracted to our area, while helping the UK achieve its clean energy potential.’

Net Zero Teesside would be the first major development to be based on the South Tees Development Corporation site. The launch event today comes just days after the Tees Valley Mayor struck a landmark deal to secure the land at the former SSI steelworks site and bring it back into public ownership, ready for future redevelopment.