Drax submits plans to build world’s largest carbon capture and storage project

North Yorkshire site will incorporate two BECCS units.

Renewable energy company Drax has submitted plans to build the world’s largest carbon capture facility at its North Yorkshire power station.

It plans to invest £2bln in the 2020s in its plans to develop two bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) units.

The company says work could start as soon as 2024, and once operational the two units combined will capture at least 8mln tonnes of CO₂ per year, making it the largest carbon capture and storage project in power in the world.

Drax submitted its application for a Development Consent Order to the Planning Inspectorate – seen as a significant step toward sign-off. It follows two consultations carried out by the company seeking input from the public and stakeholders.  

Drax says it hopes to source up to 80% of the materials and services it needs to build its BECCS project from British businesses. It recently announced a partnership with British Steel to identify opportunities to source the steel to build BECCS from its Scunthorpe and Teesside steelworks.

However, CEO Will Gardiner said government support would be vital for the project to flourish, “Drax aims to invest billions of pounds and create thousands of jobs developing BECCS in the UK, provided that the UK Government has in place policies to support the feasibility and delivery of negative emissions technologies.”