Shell provides CO2 capture technology to Humber Zero

TECHNOLOGY licensor Shell Catalysts and Technologies has announced it will provide the Humber Zero project with its Cansolv CO2 capture technology to reduce emissions from the VPI Immingham 1,240 MW combined heat-and-power station.

Humber Zero is a £1.2bn (US$1.6bn), industry-led project that aims to remove up to 8m t/y of CO2 from the Immingham industrial site in northern Lincolnshire, UK by 2030, and create a low carbon future for the Humber region. The project will use carbon capture and storage and hydrogen production at the industrial cluster to decarbonise the wider Humber region.

Shell says the VPI Immingham facility is ideally placed to kickstart industrial CO2 emissions reductions. Located near major heavy industry, it provides power and heat to about 25% of the UK’s refining capacity, including to the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery. Energy company Philipps 66 is a partner in the Humber Zero project.

Cansolv will be retrofitted to two of the three gas-fired generators at VPI Immingham, and capture “millions of tonnes of CO2”. According to Shell, Cansolv is the only large-scale, post combustion technology in commercial operation. It uses a regenerable proprietary amine to capture up to 99% of CO2 from low-pressure, oxidised gas streams. At VPI Immingham, the technology is expected to capture up to 95% of CO2, which can then be compressed, transported, and safely stored in geological formations under the seabed.

Engineering and technology company Technip Energies, Shell’s alliance partner for Cansolv technology, will support the design of a capture unit and pilot plant.

This pilot project is expected to demonstrate the strength of Cansolv technology in capturing CO2 in natural gas-fired generators. It also acts as a flagship project in the Humber and UK journey towards net zero. The pilot project partners expect it will be an important front-runner for global CCS.

Additionally, decarbonisation of the plant and essential industry at Immingham will help preserve and create high quality jobs, supporting the UK’s Levelling Up agenda. The UK Government recently released its Levelling Up White Paper, which sets out a plan to spread opportunity and prosperity across the nation.