Drax Group signs long-term contract on carbon capture technology for Selby power station

In the picture are (left to right) Kentaro Hosomi, chief regional officer EMEA, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Carl Clayton, head of BECCS, Drax Group and Jenny Blyth, project analyst, Drax Group at Drax Power Station.

AN agreement has been reached between Drax Group and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering's the the use of carbon capture technology at its North Yorkshire power station.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, Ltd, part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has agreed a long-term contract for Drax to use its carbon capture technology, the Advanced KM CDR processTM.

Drax will license MHI's carbon capture solvent, KS-21TM, to capture CO2 at its power station near Selby.

Drax has already converted its power station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal, reducing its emissions by more than 85 per cent. By deploying BECCS technology, the company is now aiming to become carbon negative by 2030.

The first BECCS unit at Drax could be operational as soon as 2027, supporting thousands of jobs across the North of England as soon as 2024, and capturing and storing at least eight million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2030.  

As part of the agreement, MHI plans to locate its core CCS team at the company's European headquarters in London and explore additional employment opportunities in the UK in future.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group chief executive, said: "The world urgently needs to move from making climate pledges to taking climate action. This game-changing contract between Drax and MHI could contribute to a decade of global environmental leadership from the UK and provide further stimulus to a post-Covid economic recovery.

"Carbon capture technologies like BECCS are going to be absolutely vital in the fight against the climate crisis. Subject to the right regulatory framework being in place, Drax stands ready to invest further in this essential negative emissions technology, which not only permanently removes CO2 from the atmosphere but also delivers the reliable, renewable electricity needed for clean, green economic growth."

Kenji Terasawa, president and chief executive, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, added: "We are very proud to have been selected as Drax's technology partner and we firmly believe that our carbon capture technology will make a significant contribution to the UK and wider global community achieving their net zero targets. We look forward to expanding our presence in the UK and developing a centre of excellence for the deployment of carbon capture technology across Europe, the Middle East and Africa region."