Wood Supporting UK Industrial Decarbonisation with Humber Zero
Wood, the global engineering and consultancy company, is delivering the concept selection and early design for the UK’s Humber Zero project which aims to create a zero-carbon industrial cluster, in a new contract for VPI Immingham.
The project will integrate established industrial sites with state-of-the-art technology to capture carbon. The concept will help reduce carbon emissions from power and petrochemical facilities, as well as create a sustainable platform for industrial growth and economic development and meet decarbonisation targets.
Wood is developing an overall masterplan for carbon reductions across three sites in the Immingham area, including VPI Immingham Combined Heat & Power Plant, Phillips 66 Humber Refinery, and Uniper Killingholme Power Plant. The innovative concept includes three phases of development over the next decade to capture, treat, and compress up to 8 million tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide for permanent storage in the geological formations below the UK North Sea.
Evaluating the specific needs of different industrial processes on three operating sites has led to a plan involving several complementary technologies, including use of renewable power to generate green hydrogen through electrolysis, generation of blue hydrogen with integrated carbon capture, and post-combustion carbon capture from existing stacks.
Joe Sczurko, CEO of Wood’s Technical Consulting Solutions business, said: “We are delighted to be working alongside VPI Immingham on the landmark Humber Zero project to support the next phase of sustainable development in the region.
“With decades of multi-sector experience, Wood is focused on driving the global energy transition and supporting a milestone project of this kind which could create a model for industrial decarbonisation around the world. It will also play an important role in helping the UK government meet its ambitious energy targets, including reaching net zero by 2050.”
Jonathan Briggs, project director at VPI Immingham, said: “We are pleased that the Humber Zero project will benefit from Wood’s technical and industry expertise. The project’s success will depend on careful, detailed planning and flawless execution. Wood are well placed to help us deliver this industry-leading project.”
The Humber Zero project will form a significant element of the UK’s industrial decarbonisation strategy, making up one third of the Humberside industrial cluster. It is one of five locations – along with Teesside, Merseyside, South Wales and North East Scotland – identified as well-suited to early carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) deployment by the Committee of Climate Change (CCC).
