Shell Catalysts & Technologies was appointed by The Humber Zero project to provide the technology that will capture millions of tons of CO₂ from the VPI Immingham combined heat and power station (CHP) in the UK.

Humber Zero is a multi-billion pound project to decarbonize vital industry in the Immingham industrial area in northern Lincolnshire, on the south bank of the River Humber. The project will incorporate both post-combustion carbon capture and the production of hydrogen for energy.

Shell will be providing Shell’s Cansolv* CO₂ post-combustion carbon capture technology to be retrofitted to the existing VPI Immingham power station stacks which emit carbon-rich flue gas. Shell’s Alliance partner for Cansolv CO₂ technology, Technip Energies, will support the design of the capture unit and the pilot plant. The technology will capture up to 95% of the CO₂ in the gas, preventing it from being emitted to the atmosphere and allowing it to be compressed, transported and safely stored in geological structures under the seabed.

“Industrial scale carbon capture and storage will be essential if the UK is the achieve its Net Zero targets," said VPI Project Director for Humber Zero, Jonathan Briggs. "Humber Zero is a pioneering project that will capture up to 8MMt of carbon from critical industry making a significant contribution to the national carbon reduction goal."

"We are proud to work with VPI Immingham as a partner for this critical project. Shell’s CANSOLV CO₂ Capture technology has been in operation since 2013, including in a large-scale, commercial, low-pressure application at SaskPower in Canada, where it is designed to capture up to 1 MMtpy of CO₂," said Andy Gosse, President, Shell Catalysts & Technologies. "This project with VPI Immingham will be a flagship project in the Humber and UK journey to net-zero and will be an important front runner for the world of carbon capture and storage. A pilot campaign run at the VPI plant, conducted with our partner Technip, will be a key next step in demonstrate the strength of the Cansolv technology in capturing CO₂ in natural gas fired power generation."

As the UK’s largest cluster by industrial emissions, decarbonization of the Humber Region by 2040 is critical for the UK’s net-zero ambitions.  Humber Zero aims to remove up to 8MMt of CO₂ from critical industry located on the South Humber Bank.

VPI Immingham’s 1,240-MW combined heat and power plant is ideally placed to kick start a reduction in industrial carbon dioxide emissions. Located close to major heavy industry, the plant provides power and heat for around 25% of the UK’s refinery capacity, including the adjacent Phillips 66 Humber Refinery.

Decarbonization of the plant and essential industry at Immingham will preserve and create new high-quality jobs in the north of England in support of the government’s Levelling Up agenda, whilst enabling new global opportunities for the UK to lead lower-carbon technology in a net zero world.

The technology provided by Shell will be retrofitted to two of the three gas-fired power generators at the power plant, which also provides up to 5% of the peak power requirement for the national grid.

In addition to VPI Immingham, Humber Zero’s industrial partners include Phillips 66 and energy company and trader Vitol.