Alstom and Drax Power team up with BOC Group to develop Yorkshire-based Carbon Capture & Storage Project

Alstom and Drax announced today that industrial gases provider BOC will join them as a co-developer on the 426 MW oxy-fired carbon capture and storage (CCS) project currently under development at the Drax site in North Yorkshire. BOC was selected following a competitive process and brings world-leading technology in the field of air separation as well as complementary plant engineering and integration capabilities from its parent The Linde Group that will further enhance the deliverability of the project.

The project will link into the Humber Cluster CO2 transport and off-shore storage network currently under development by National Grid. The key partners in this industry initiative represent Europes strongest-ever industrial alliance to fast-track the commercialisation of CCS technologies.

The project is a candidate for NER-300 funding, following the submission of the project by the UK DECC Office of Carbon Capture and Storage to the EU process in May 2011. The developers further intend to apply for support under the upcoming UK DECC CCS Demonstration Programme. The completed project will demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of CCS as a competitive low-carbon technology and an important part of the post 2020 energy mix in the UK.

Stephen Burgin, Alstoms UK Country President and Peter Emery, Draxs Production Director  said: We are delighted to welcome BOC to the project development team and are confident that the combination of major industrial players now assembled has whats needed to take CCS from pilot scale to full-scale operation in what promises to be a flagship project for the UK, Europe and beyond.

About Drax
Drax Power Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Drax Group plc, is the owner and operator of Drax Power Station, the largest, cleanest and most efficient coal fired power station in the UK.  The output capacity from the stations six generators is 4,000MW. At current output levels Drax supplies some 7% of the UKs electricity needs, and through substituting sustainable biomass for some of its coal the power station now produces around 7% of the UKs renewable power.

About National Grid

National Grid is an electricity and gas company that connects consumers to energy sources through its networks. In Britain, National Grid runs the gas and electricity systems that our society is built on, delivering gas and electricity across the country. In the North Eastern US, the company connects more than seven million gas and electric customers to vital energy sources, essential for our modern lifestyles.
National Grid (through National Grid Carbon) is applying its knowledge and skills from transporting high pressure natural gas, to develop, build and operate CCS transportation networks in the UK.