Call for clarity on once-in-a-generation opportunity to empower the Humber

That is the call from a crucial power provider at the heart of the most carbon-intensive industrial cluster in the UK – with an investment-ready solution to deliver further growth through decarbonisation on the table.

VPI is behind electricity and steam generation for the Humber’s two large oil refineries, together key to energy provision and security. Its combined heat and power plant, based in Immingham, also has the capacity to power one million homes. 

The company is planning to deploy a £1.5 billion carbon capture proposal that will see polluting gases removed before they hit the atmosphere, instead sending them down new and repurposed pipelines to be stored permanently under the near North Sea. 

With the potential to create 1,500 jobs at peak construction, high value permanent roles will follow, while ensuring VPI’s and the refineries’ ongoing operations for decades. A further 20,000 jobs are envisaged for the wider Viking CCS build out, including a huge import opportunity.

To help the project progress, VPI is requesting a signal from the government in the Comprehensive Spending Review, that it will be the anchor emitter for the Viking CCS project; one that delivers the most bang for the buck when it comes to cleaning up a hard-to-abate industry.

Jorge Pikunic, chief executive of VPI, said: “Carbon capture and storage provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn the Humber into a powerhouse of the future. If missed, it may not come again.

“For the last five years, public officials have worked tirelessly with industry to set in motion the development of Viking CCS, a unique carbon capture and storage network, here in the Humber. 

“Proceeding with the next stage of Viking CCS now will demonstrate how a strategic, mission-driven government can successfully transition an industrial hub into a future powerhouse, in a prudent, value-for money driven, just and meaningful way.”

VPI is waiting for the go ahead to be selected as one of the first emitter projects for the Viking CCS network. If received, it could ultimately lead to private capital investment this parliamentary term to retrofit its power plant with carbon capture technology.  This would help it decarbonise the grid and industry as well as to kick start the broader transportation and storage network.

Retrofitting CCS technology onto VPI’s power plant in Immingham is more cost effective than building a new plant with CCS from scratch. It also has the advantage of cleaning up existing emitter sites ahead of rolling out the availability of the transportation and storage facilities to other large-scale emitters in the region and attracting further investment.

Viking CCS only requires a 50km onshore pipeline, the depleted gas fields and offshore pipeline already exist, and the transportation and storage network neighbours the first emitters.

The cluster also includes the UK’s largest port, allowing the Treasury to unlock around £30bn in taxable revenues by 2050, through imports of foreign carbon.