Uniper awards design study contracts for Grain Carbon Capture project
- Process design package (PDP) contracts have been awarded by Uniper to Technip Energies and Aker Carbon Capture for the proposed post carbon capture plant at Grain power station in the Southeast of England
- Both companies will deliver technology and design studies
- Grain Carbon Capture has the potential to remove over 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year during the electricity generation process, helping the UK energy system transition to Net Zero
Uniper is developing the Grain Carbon Capture project, which is a proposal to retrofit post combustion carbon capture technology on up to three units of the existing 1,326MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plant at Grain power station, on the Isle of Grain in the Southeast of England.
Technip Energies and Aker Carbon Capture have been awarded process design package (PDP) contracts by Uniper to deliver its technology and design studies. This will include the technology required for CO2 capture, conditioning, liquefaction, and the temporary storage facility, for the proposed project.
Both Technip Energies and Aker Carbon Capture will participate in a competition to engineer the carbon capture technology and plant design needed for the project to move to the front end engineering and design (FEED) phase, ahead of a final investment decision, which is expected to be taken in the mid-2020s.
This will allow Uniper to evaluate each of the post carbon capture technology and design solutions, helping to inform our planning and permitting applications for the future construction and operation of the carbon capture plant at Grain power station.
At the end of this process, the selected company will become the Grain Carbon Capture project’s preferred technology provider during FEED, and for other project stages such as engineering, procurement and construction, and into the future operation of the plant.
Grain Carbon Capture would re-direct the exhaust gases produced by the existing CCGT units towards a new capture plant integrated within the existing power station boundary. The captured CO2 could then be cooled, compressed and liquified, prior to being shipped, or compressed for gaseous pipeline export, for permanent offshore storage in the seabed.
Retrofitting all three CCGT units at Grain power station with post combustion carbon capture technology has the potential to remove over 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year. This represents over 7 per cent of the UK government’s 2030 target to capture up to 20-30 Mt CO2 per year across the economy, to help meet the UK’s target of net zero by 2050.
The award of the PDP contracts is a significant milestone in the development of our plans to decarbonise electricity production at one of the most efficient gas CCGT plants in our fleet - Grain power station. It would not only help meet Uniper’s ambitious strategy to generate more than 80 per cent of our installed power capacity from carbon free sources by 2030, but could also help to support the UK’s transition to a net zero future by removing millions of tonnes of CO2 per year whilst continuing to provide flexible and reliable power to the national grid.
We look forward to working with Technip Energies and Aker Carbon Capture during this first phase of the design competition, to identify the most effective technology solutions to help deliver Uniper’s and the UK’s decarbonisation strategies.
About Uniper
Düsseldorf-based Uniper is an international energy company with activities in more than 40 countries. The company and its roughly 7,000 employees make an important contribution to supply security in Europe, particularly in its core markets of Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
Uniper’s operations encompass power generation in Europe, global energy trading, and a broad gas portfolio. Uniper procures gas—including liquefied natural gas (LNG)—and other energy sources on global markets. The company owns and operates gas storage facilities with a total capacity of more than 7 billion cubic meters.
Uniper intends to be completely carbon-neutral by 2040. Uniper aims for its installed power generating capacity to be more than 80% zero-carbon by 2030. To achieve this, the company is transforming its power plants and facilities and investing in flexible, dispatchable power generating units. Uniper is already one of Europe’s largest operators of hydropower plants and is helping further expand solar and wind power, which are essential for a more sustainable and secure future. The company is progressively expanding its gas portfolio to include green gases like hydrogen and biomethane and aims to convert to these gases over the long term.
Uniper is a reliable partner for communities, municipal utilities, and industrial enterprises for planning and implementing innovative, lower-carbon solutions on their decarbonization journey. Uniper is a hydrogen pioneer, is active worldwide along the entire hydrogen value chain, and is conducting projects to make hydrogen a mainstay of the energy supply.
About Uniper UK
In the UK, Uniper owns and operates a flexible generation portfolio of seven power stations, a fast-cycle gas storage facility and two high pressure gas pipelines, from Theddlethorpe to Killingholme and from Blyborough to Cottam. We also have significant long-term regasification capacity at the Grain LNG terminal in Kent, to convert LNG back to natural gas.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Uniper SE Management and other information currently available to Uniper. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. Uniper SE does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to modify them to conform with future events or developments.