The Humber commits to net-zero targets

Drax Group, Equinor and National Grid Ventures have already demonstrated their commitment towards the ‘Zero Carbon Humber’ campaign with the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership and CATCH, a trade body for industrials in the region.

The Zero Carbon Humber campaign is a response to the Government’s ambition to establish the first ‘net-zero’ carbon industrial cluster in the UK by 2040.

Back in May (2019), Drax, Equinor and National Grid Ventures signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which would see the companies work collaboratively to explore how a large-scale carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) network could be constructed in the Humber in the mid-2020s.

Drax, Equinor and National Grid Ventures sign MoU

The Humber currently stands as the UK’s most carbon intensive industrial region in the country, and if industrial businesses across the Humber fails to decarbonise, the Humber will face costs between £1.4bn and £4.2bn in carbon taxes alone by 2040.

Work is already underway illustrating how carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) technology can make the Humber a net zero carbon economy while providing the foundation for the roll-out of low carbon hydrogen as a fuel across the wider Yorkshire region.

Earlier this year, the UK’s Committee on Climate Change (CCC) highlighted the importance of CCUS and hydrogen technology if the UK is to meet its legally binding target of net zero carbon by 2050.

UK commits to net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050

Time to commit: Industry calls for UK Government action now on carbon capture

To achieve this ambition, it called on industry and government to work together to start producing hydrogen in at least one industrial cluster by 2030, along with combining biomass with CCUS technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 

Launching the campaign, Lord Haskins, Chair of the Humber LEP, said, “We at the Humber LEP fully support this initiative and its goals and are proud to work with businesses across the Humber to make this ambition plan a reality.”

“If we can achieve this goal of becoming carbon neutral on the Humber it would make us a brilliant example not just for the rest of the country, but the rest of the world.”

Will Gardiner, CEO of Drax Group, commented, “By working together the Humber region can become the world’s first zero carbon economy and thrive again as a British industrial powerhouse and be at the forefront of the fight against the climate crisis.”

“We can help Britain become a world leader in emerging technologies like carbon capture, preserving and creating jobs, and rebalancing the economy.”

Jon Butterworth, Chief Operating Officer of Global Transmission at National Grid Ventures, said, “The campaign is about tackling carbon so that we can keep major industrial business across the Humber open.”

“The power industry has already made great strides to decarbonise the sector and continue to do so through the growth of renewables, battery storage and interconnectors.”