British Steel could be set to supply power giant Drax with 13,000 tonnes of steel to build its world-leading carbon capture infrastructure.
An agreement has been signed by the two huge regional industrial operators to explore the opportunities around the emission-busting project.
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage would complete a huge transformation at Drax, taking it from a reliance on fossil fuels to a carbon negative position as a sustainable biomass-fuelled plant and feedstock producer.
Read more: £80m inestment projects get under way at British Steel's Scunthorpe plant
Allan Bell, British Steel’s chief commercial and procurement officer, said: “We are proud to be working with Drax to explore the opportunities this major infrastructure project creates both in terms of the use of our steel products but also in developing skills in the steel supply chain required to support the development of CCUS expertise within the UK.
“We’re already making progress in our own decarbonisation journey, with our plans to use green hydrogen and our commitment to be net zero by 2050. There are real synergies between what we’re trying to achieve and Drax’s ambitions with BECCS, which we hope to build on through this partnership, putting the UK and the North of England on the world map.”
The pair have entered into a memorandum of understanding.
Through the partnership, Drax and British Steel aim to support efforts to meet the UK’s climate targets and level up the North, while supporting skills within the steel sector.
Will Gardiner, Drax Group chief executive, said: “We are excited to be partnering with British Steel as we continue to progress our world-leading UK BECCS project. This country has a once in a lifetime opportunity to lead the world in vital new green technologies like BECCS, which will not only support thousands of UK jobs, but could also create new export opportunities, whilst helping to tackle the climate crisis.
“We aim to invest billions of pounds, create tens of thousands of jobs and have BECCS operational in the UK by 2030, provided that the UK Government has in place policies to support the feasibility and delivery of negative emissions technologies. BECCS will permanently remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year from as soon as 2027, whilst continuing to generate the reliable, renewable power this country needs.”
Work could get under way as soon as 2024, with the energy company planning to source up to 80 per cent of the materials and services it needs for the project from British businesses.
Steel required for the major infrastructure project would include beams produced at British Steel’s Scunthorpe and Teesside works.
Scunthorpe MP Holly Mumby-Croft MP said: “I was delighted to hear that Drax and British Steel had reached this agreement, it’s some really positive news for Scunthorpe.
“I’ve long said that we should be using British steel in British infrastructure projects not only because we should be supporting our local businesses, but because it’s also the best. I look forward to seeing the outcome of this partnership and the benefits it will bring to Scunthorpe, protecting jobs and supporting energy security.”
A total of eight million tonnes of CO2 a year could be captured from 2030, making it the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world.
It will also act as an anchor project for the East Coast Cluster, a consortium of Zero Carbon Humber and Net Zero Teesside, which combined account for more than half of the UK’s industrial emissions - with plans to take in the Scunthorpe steelworks on the pipeline east to the North Sea storage zones.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “This is fantastic news, and a welcome boost for British Steel’s Teesside base, which will play a big part in Drax’s plans. This is yet another example of how our local businesses are benefitting not just from the transformative low carbon projects taking place on Teesside, but from across the north more widely as they seek our expertise and know-how.
“British Steel is already embracing the cleaner, healthier and safer industries of the future in our region, after launching a study into the use of green hydrogen in its operations on Teesside. This is one more feather in its cap as we help lead the march to net zero.”
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