10 June 2021
The Scottish Cluster – uniting communities, industries, and businesses to deliver Carbon Capture and Storage (“CCS”), hydrogen and other low carbon technologies, supporting Scotland, the UK and Europe to meet net zero goals, while creating low carbon jobs and sustaining vital but hard to abate industries
The Scottish Cluster, led by a cross-sector group of Scottish industrial CO₂ emitters and the Acorn CCS and Hydrogen Project Partners, has today been established as a unification and collaboration of Scottish industries, communities and businesses, calling on the Scottish and UK Governments to deliver the actions needed so that CCS, hydrogen and other low carbon technologies, can enable the decarbonisation of Scottish and UK industry and facilitate a low carbon economy. The Scottish Cluster has today launched the “Back the Scottish Cluster” Campaign.
The cluster brings together key stakeholders from across Scotland and key industries in the Scottish economy including whisky, transport, technology, infrastructure, chemicals, energy, real estate, manufacturing, academia, communities and the public sector creating a unified voice making the case for CCS, hydrogen and low carbon technologies in Scotland’s decarbonisation pathway. Industry emissions must be reduced to achieve Scotland and the UK’s net zero targets. Reducing industry emissions will require widespread use of CCS technology and hydrogen, both of which are essential for decarbonising sectors such as transport, heat, and power and for supporting the deployment of carbon removal technologies like Direct Air Capture.
The Scottish Cluster has a clear decarbonisation roadmap, ready access to key infrastructure and a series of CO₂ reduction projects aligned to the countries’ net zero goals. With the potential to address up to 9 million tonnes of CO₂ that currently comes from the top emitting sectors in Scotland, the Scottish Cluster also establishes a very large CO₂ transportation and storage solution. This includes shipping CO₂ through Scottish Ports crucial to reducing industrial emissions from areas around the UK, and even Europe, that need access to CO₂ transport and storage facilities.
Scotland has unique potential in CO₂ storage. The Acorn Project, led by Storegga, Shell and Harbour Energy, is one of the most mature UK CCS and hydrogen projects and is positioned to be the most cost-effective and scalable CCS project in the UK. By the mid-2020s, Acorn’s CCS and hydrogen systems will provide critical backbone infrastructure for the Scottish Cluster. Because this infrastructure can scale as the demand to store CO₂ grows, it can cost effectively transform Scotland’s carbon intensive industries and help build a fairer, more resilient economy while sustaining and creating low carbon jobs across the whole of the UK.
The UK Government has said it will provide £1 billion to support the development of four CO₂ capture and storage clusters across the UK by the end of the decade as part of its Ten Point Plan to reach net zero climate targets by 2050. The Scottish Cluster welcomes the BEIS cluster sequencing for CCUS and unites local, industry and national voices in pressing case for selecting the Scottish Cluster for Track-1 BEIS cluster sequencing.
Nick Cooper, CEO of Storegga, lead developer of the Acorn Project, said,
“The Scottish Cluster and the “Back the Scottish Cluster” Campaign is a positive, forward-looking vision for the region’s roadmap to decarbonisation. It unifies the voices of Scottish industry and will look to highlight the importance of CCS, hydrogen and other low carbon technologies in Scotland to aid the country, the UK and Europe in tackling climate change and meeting net zero goals at the same time as creating and preserving jobs in industries which struggle to decarbonise totally."
“The Acorn CCS and Hydrogen project is perfectly placed to make best use of legacy oil and gas infrastructure and Scotland’s excellent offshore geology for CO₂ storage with the deep-water port of Peterhead offering significant import capabilities. Of all the UK CCS projects, Scotland is blessed with the largest, most scalable and most advanced infrastructure.”
Mike Smith, CEO NECCUS said,
“NECCUS, as the association for industrial decarbonisation in Scotland, is a firm supporter of the “Back the Scottish Cluster” campaign. Scotland is the obvious place to begin the decarbonisation journey, and has a wealth of projects, such as the Acorn CCS and Hydrogen project, which can put in place the building blocks to enable the UK to retain and expand its industrial base in a net zero future. As industry contributes £26 bn per year to the Scottish economy, employing some 300,000 people, it is vital we deliver the infrastructure needed to support industry in the future.” Scot Gov publication – Securing a green recovery on a path to net zero: climate change plan 2018–2032 – update (Dec 2020)
*Scot Gov publication – Securing a green recovery on a path to net zero: climate change plan 2018–2032 – update (Dec 2020)
Notes to Editors and Contacts
The Scottish Cluster
The Scottish Cluster unites our communities, industries, and businesses to deliver CCS, hydrogen and other low carbon technologies, supporting Scotland, the UK and Europe to meet net zero goals.
The Scottish Cluster will create low carbon jobs while sustaining vital industries where it is hard to reduce emissions.
About the Campaign
The ‘Back the Scottish Cluster’ campaign brings together stakeholders from across Scotland and key industries in our economy including whisky, transport, technology, infrastructure, chemicals, energy, real estate, manufacturing, and academia. We are a unified voice, calling on the Scottish and UK Governments to take the actions needed for CCS, hydrogen and other low carbon technologies to play their full part in meeting net zero goals.
www.backthescottishcluster.co.uk
backthescottishcluster@madano.com
Acorn Project and Project Partners
Storegga, through its wholly owned subsidiary Pale Blue Dot Energy, Shell, and Harbour Energy (“Harbour”) are equal partners in the Acorn Project. As equal partners, Storegga, Shell and Harbour will develop Acorn through to Final Investment Decision (“FID”), construction, operation and beyond.
Acorn is one of the most mature UK CCS and hydrogen projects and is positioned to be the most cost-effective and scalable CCS project in the UK. The project is currently in the detailed engineering and design phase of development and can be operational by the mid-2020’s, providing a clear pathway for the UK to meet its net zero targets. Acorn is expected to be storing at least 5Mt/yr of CO₂ by 2030, half the CO₂ emissions set out in the UK Government’s Ten Point Plan for a green Industrial Revolution by 2030. Acorn is specifically designed to service multiple emitters around Scotland, the UK and Europe. As such, it can rapidly scale up to meet expected demand, with the ability to remove at least 20mtpa of CO₂ emissions within the first decade of operations.
The Acorn project repurposes existing gas pipelines with ready access to world class CO₂ storage, to quickly establish an essential CCS and Hydrogen hub in north east Scotland, which can be rapidly scaled up to support the deployment of a host of low carbon technologies including blue hydrogen infrastructure. The proximity to the deep-water port of Peterhead enables the Acorn project to support international decarbonisation with imported CO₂ being shipped into the dedicated terminal before onward transfer to the Acorn storage facility.
For more information on Storegga, Pale Blue Dot or Acorn contact:
storegga_media@camarco.co.uk or +44(0)20 3757 4980.
Shell
For more information on Shell’s CCS activities please contact +44(0)20 7934 5550.
Harbour Energy
Brunswick Group
Patrick Handley / Tel: +44(0)7974 982395
Will Medvei / Tel: +44(0)7823 527148
NECCUS
NECCUS (pronounced nexus) is an alliance of industry, government and experts, united by their determination to drive the changes and support the programmes needed to reduce carbon emissions from industrial sources in Scotland and beyond.
NECCUS has some 50 participating organisations and is facilitating the development of the industrial scale CCUS and Hydrogen projects in Scotland, through advocacy, engagement, communication, and education. Supporting an effective transition to Net Zero through the deployment of CCUS, the production and use of hydrogen, and promoting clean industrial growth zones across the UK.
