The COP Collection
Supporting the decarbonization of Teesside with carbon capture
In the industrial heartland of Teesside, a transformative energy project is taking shape - one that could reshape not only the local economy but also could impact the future of power generation across the UK. Net Zero Teesside Power aims to be one of the world’s first commercial scale gas-fired power stations with carbon capture, providing flexible, dispatchable low-carbon power to the UK grid.
Carbon capture as a vital part of the energy transition mix
The UK Government has a target of achieving net zero by 2050. As a major step towards this, the aim previously had been to fully decarbonize the power system in the UK by 2035. In July 2024, the incoming Government brought forward this target date to 2030, accelerating the speed of the energy transition required. Alongside the transition to electricity generated from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, there remains a need for reliable, lower carbon alternatives when energy from these sources is not available.
NZT Power plant render
Gas power, fitted with carbon capture and storage, has been identified as a key source of flexible, dispatchable low-carbon power generation. The UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) sets legally binding carbon budgets to map out the pathway to net zero. Within the most recent edition, it calls for gas power with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) to generate 30 TWh or 6% of UK electricity by 2035.¹ Similarly, analysis by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)² recognizes the need for up to 10 GW of power generation capacity with CCS by 2035. Beyond the UK, in the first global stocktake decision at COP28, countries are called to accelerate carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS), particularly in hard-to-abate sectors.³
Up to
10 GW
of power generation capacity with CCS by 2035²
It is against this backdrop that the East Coast Cluster has been selected as one of the first carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) clusters in the UK, with funding being made available for the project in October 2024. Olivia Powis, CEO of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association, said “Meeting our clean power by 2030 and net zero by 2050 targets means that we must use every low carbon technology available, and CCUS will play a vital role in the journey. The East Coast Cluster⁴ is set to be a key enabler of reducing emissions in the North East of England, which has a proud industrial history. For our industrial heartlands, decarbonisation does not mean de-industrialisation, and it is through the use of CCUS that heavy industries can make the transition to produce low carbon products and retain up to 77,000 jobs in carbon-intensive industries at risk of being relocated abroad.”
Olivia Powis, CEO, Carbon Capture and Storage Association
“The East Coast Cluster, which includes Net Zero Teesside, is set to be a key enabler of reducing emissions in the North East of England, which has a proud industrial history.
Olivia Powis,
CEO, Carbon Capture and Storage Association
This site will be transformed into a state-of-the-art carbon capture plant
Location, location, location
The choice of Teesside, on the North Sea coast, is strategic. The Tees Valley is home to the largest chemical complex in the UK, with more than 1,400 companies directly involved in the chemicals and process industry. The industry here needs reliable lower carbon energy in order to decarbonize. It also has a steelmaking heritage, with the steelworks closing in 2015. Greg Bell, Sales Manager for GE Vernova, explains what this means for Net Zero Teesside (NZT) Power – and what NZT Power means for the local community. “All the skills needed on the old steel site - welders, operators, mechanics - are exactly what we’ll need for NZT Power. There’s a big employment opportunity during the construction phase. There are also lots of similarities in equipment and operation, so we hope to be able to train and teach operators from the steelworks to operate NZT Power.” NZT Power could create and support more than 3,000 construction jobs and then require around 1,000 jobs annually during operations until 2050.⁵ There’s another benefit to the choice of Teesside. “It’s a good location with a lot of offshore carbon storage potential,” Greg says. “There’s an opportunity to sequester the CO₂ in those saline aquifers or depleted gas fields.” The CO₂ which is captured will be pumped approximately 145km offshore to be permanently stored in the Endurance carbon store, deep under the North Sea.
“All the skills needed on the old steel site — welders, operators, mechanics — are exactly what we’ll need for NZT POWER. There’s a big employment opportunity during the construction phase.”
Greg Bell,
Sales Manager, GE Vernova
Ben Houchen at GE Vernova’s New Era of Energy event in London, June 2023
“Net Zero Teesside Power and the Northern Endurance Partnership can help make us the UK’s first decarbonized industrial cluster, pioneering clean energy and creating the good quality jobs of the future.”
Ben Houchen, Mayor of the Tees Valley
The Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) enables Net Zero Teesside and the East Coast Cluster by providing the common infrastructure needed to transport CO₂ from emitters in the Humber and Teesside to secure offshore storage in the North Sea. Ben Houchen, Mayor of the Tees Valley, said: “Net Zero Teesside Power and the Northern Endurance Partnership can help make us the UK’s first decarbonized industrial cluster, pioneering clean energy and creating the good quality jobs of the future.”
Collaborating to deliver a world-first
NZT Power is a collaborative effort involving several key players, each bringing its own expertise to the table. NZT Power is a joint venture between bp and Equinor, and construction will be undertaken by a group of specialist contractors. For the Onshore Power, Compression and Capture contract, Technip Energies are the leader of a consortium with GE Vernova, with construction partner, Balfour Beatty. The highly efficient combined cycle plant will be powered by an advanced GE Vernova 9HA.02 gas turbine, a steam turbine, a generator and a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG), which will integrate with a state-of-the-art carbon capture plant using Technip Energies’ Canopy by T.ENᵀᴹ solution powered by the Shell Catalysts & Technologies CANSOLV® CO₂ capture technology. The collaboration between companies has fostered a better understanding of each other's technologies, which Greg views as a significant benefit. “We’re adopting pre-existing principles we have in the power sector in terms of working in consortiums. The novelty is the carbon capture equipment. We’ve gained a better understanding of each other’s technologies to better integrate them.”
See how the carbon capture and storage process works
The project is expected to provide flexible, dispatchable low-carbon power equivalent to the average electricity requirements of more than 1 million UK homes and capture up to 2 million tonnes of CO₂ per year. Juan David Lopez, Net Zero Teesside Power Project Director for Technip Energies, highlights the significance of the project. “Technip Energies' collaboration with GE Vernova on the Net Zero Teesside Power project highlights the strength of complementary expertise working together to drive decarbonization. The combination of Technip Energies, an integrated provider of state-of-the-art CCUS solutions, and GE Vernova’s expertise in engineering and large-scale integration of natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plants, creates a powerful synergy. Together, we are able to deliver one of the world’s first commercial-scale projects, capturing up to 2 million tonnes of CO₂ per year while providing low-carbon electricity to over a million homes. We are proud to play a key role in this groundbreaking partnership, advancing the UK’s net zero targets and setting a new standard for future carbon capture projects.”
NZT Power will capture up to
2M TONNES
of CO₂ per year.
“We are proud to play a key role in this groundbreaking partnership, advancing the UK’s net zero targets and setting a new standard for future carbon capture projects.”
Juan David Lopez,
Net Zero Teesside Project Director for Technip Energies
The Path Forward: Scaling and Replication
As the UK moves closer to its net-zero goals, NZT Power aims to become a blueprint for future carbon capture initiatives. NZT Power could generate up to 742 megawatts of low-carbon electricity. Greg notes additional carbon capture capacity will be needed by the 2030s to meet government targets. “We have another 9 gigawatts in the UK to work with. If the government targets are to be met, NZT Power will need to be replicated many times. We can take learnings from NZT Power and do it again and again.” The scaling of these technologies should become more cost-effective with each new project, as the lessons learned from Teesside could be applied elsewhere. “The first of a kind costs the most,” Greg says.
“Courage is needed to make progress and show that it’s possible.”
Greg Bell,
Sales Manager, GE Vernova
A Bold Vision for the Future
NZT Power is a bold step in the UK's energy transition. It demonstrates the courage needed from government, companies, and communities to tackle the immense challenge of decarbonization. “Courage is needed to make progress and show that it’s possible,” Greg emphasizes. “NZT Power is the first, and then there will be others in line.” Commercial operations are anticipated to begin in 2028. In the race to decarbonize, NZT Power is ready to show what can be achieved when innovation, collaboration, and ambition come together – and to act as a catalyst for a net zero industrial revolution in Teesside.
In conclusion
NZT Power aims to be one of the world’s first commercial scale gas-fired power stations with carbon capture.
The project will be delivered by a consortium of partners, who have worked together to understand how to better integrate the technologies.
The construction and operation of the plant aims to bring high-skilled jobs to the area, including those building on the skills of former steelworkers.
By 2035, up to an additional 9 gigawatts of carbon capture capacity will be needed in the UK, and lessons from NZT Power will likely drive cost-effective scaling of these technologies.
¹ https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sector-summary-Electricity-generation.pdf ² Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (2021), ‘Energy and emissions projections: Net Zero Strategy baseline (partial interim update December 2021)’, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-andemissions-projections-net-zero-strategy-baseline-partialinterim-update-december-2021 (Annex O supplementary data: Major power producers’ generation by source) ³ https://www.globalccsinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/COP29-Half-Time-CCS-Develoment-in-International-Climate-Change-Policy-Global-CCS-Institute.pdf ⁴ The East Coast Cluster includes Net Zero Teesside and Zero Carbon Humber: https://eastcoastcluster.co.uk ⁵ https://eastcoastcluster.co.uk/press-release/net-zero-teesside-power-and-the-northern-endurance-partnership-select-contractors-for-c-4bn-construction-contracts/ ⁶ This article contains forward-looking statements, which provide current expectations based on certain assumptions. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation to update these statements.
