Microsoft captured headlines around the world with its recent commitment to becoming carbon negative by 2030, and soon after AstraZeneca joined.
The giants of technology and pharmaceuticals have joined joined Drax in the new global race. Which company will be the first to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it adds?
Its the modern equivalent of the ‘space race’ of the 1960s. Once more, experts are striving to develop ‘moonshot’ technologies that will extend the boundaries of human capability. Only this time it’s businesses rather than governments that are competing, and the focus isn’t getting to the lunar surface — it’s repairing the Earth.
The race is inspired by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPPC) report of 2019. It concluded that the world needs to reach net-zero carbon emissions status by 2050 if the Paris Agreement’s goal is to be achieved, of limiting the increase in temperatures to 1.5–2C of pre-industrial levels. And to reach net zero the world needs to go beyond carbon neutrality, and enter the realm of negative emissions.
That’s why, at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, one of the key technologies of the future is being developed: Bioenergy carbon capture use and storage (BECCS).
We’ve dramatically reduced the carbon intensity of the power we generate at Drax — a decrease of 83% since 2013. This is thanks to our move away from coal, a fuel which produces 937 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) for every gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity sent into Great Britain’s electricity grid*.
An impressive 94% of the power generated at Drax Power Station in the first half 2019 was using renewable biomass — and it’s this sustainably-sourced fuel that could lead Drax to winning the race to carbon negative.
As its CEO Will Gardiner told the COP 25 conference in Spain on 10 December 2019:
“Drax’s ambition is to be carbon negative by 2030. Having pioneered the use of sustainable biomass, Drax now produces 12% of the UK’s renewable electricity. With the right negative emissions policy, we can do much more, removing millions of tonnes of emissions from the atmosphere each year.”
Speaking a month prior to similar announcements from Microsoft and AstraZeneca, our Chief Executive told the audience in Madrid that the UK Government is working on a policy and investment framework to encourage negative emissions technologies. It are these “which will enable the UK to be home to the world’s first carbon negative company.”
“This is not just critical to beating the climate crisis, but also to enabling a just transition, protecting jobs and creating new opportunities for clean growth — delivering for the economy as well as for the environment.”
Key to this ambition for Drax will be the use of BECCS technology. Both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the UK Committee on Climate Change agree that BECCS has an important role to play in achieving net zero. In the UK, net zero has to be achieved by 2050.
That is why the engineering expertise at Drax — which enabled the largest decarbonisation project in Europe — are now being harnessed to pioneer groundbreaking negative emissions technologies too.
Bioenergy carbon capture use and storage — a world first
Drax has recently set up a CCUS Incubation Area at its biggest power station, as Will Gardiner explains:
By giving partners access, “we can test emerging technologies and explore their potential in delivering for both the climate and the economy.
“We want to create a cleaner environment for future generations whilst generating new jobs and export opportunities for British businesses. Technologies like this could enable some of our more difficult to decarbonise sectors, like agriculture, to make positive changes to address the climate crisis.”
In 2019, we were the first power generator in the world to have captured carbon from a 100% biomass feedstock using BECCS technology. This pilot project involving C-Capture is now capturing a tonne of carbon a day.
But the potential is much greater than that. Combining responsibly sourced biomass with carbon capture technology will enable Drax to capture up to 16 million tonnes of carbon a year. That’s a significant proportion of the UK’s target. (And coincidentally, the same amount of emissions that Microsoft itself expects to produce in 2020).
One very large power station in the North of England producing power with negative emissions to help its company become carbon negative is, in itself, incredibly positive. However, by achieving its new 2030 ambition, Drax could have an impact far beyond its operational borders.
The UK Government is about to make a decision about how it distributes £800m for the rapid development of carbon capture use and storage (CCUS). It has pledged to have one or more CCUS industrial clusters operating before this decade is out. Does that sound familiar?
Drax is confident it can become the hub of the Zero Carbon Humber cluster, achieving net zero emissions while driving economic growth for the UK’s most carbon intensive region.
Talking about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s net zero challenge, Gardiner told Sky News: “I’m sure we can do it.”
Like the ‘space race’ of the 1960s, this is a unique opportunity for technologists and engineers to put their genius to work to show how humankind can come together to solve even the greatest challenges.
No matter who reaches the finishing post first — Drax, Microsoft, AstraZeneca or any other company that has the determination, drive and desire to develop and implement the technology to get us to net zero and beyond — our planet and humankind itself will be the ultimate winner.
Find out more about Drax’s progress towards carbon negative.
* Carbon intensity from ‘Measuring the progress and impacts of decarbonising British electricity’ (Dr Iain Staffell, Energy Policy, Volume 102, March 2017)
