It’s time to look to the North

Carbon Capture by Drax

Carbon Capture by Drax is a cutting-edge decarbonisation technology that will help the UK’s recovery to be a green recovery.

It will create a new, world­ leading green industry for Yorkshire and the Humber – our most carbon intensive region – and help the UK hit net zero by 2050. It will create and support 47,800 jobs in the Humber and 193,000 across the UK.

We’re already working with other passionate organisations to help ensure people across the region have the skills to take advantage of this greener, cleaner, brighter future.

Because when we capture the carbon, we can revitalise this industrial powerhouse and help communities to thrive for the next generation.

Preserving and creating green jobs of the future

10,300 jobs

As a result of Drax BECCS project

47,800 jobs

As a result of deploying CCUS & hydrogen in the Humber

193,000 jobs

As a result of deploying CCUS & hydrogen across the UK

Transforming the future of the North

  • Deploying carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS), and hydrogen technologies in the Humber will create and support 47,800 jobs, including 25,000 direct jobs and a further 24,000 jobs through the supply chain and wider UK economy.
  • Drax’s BECCS project will provide one-out-of-five jobs across the Humber cluster, meaning 10,300 jobs created and supported at its peak in 2027.
  • Utilising the Humber’s net zero model to accelerate the CCUS and hydrogen sector across the UK could mean the creation and support of 193,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Building the green skills of the future

The Covid crisis has intensified economic uncertainty in the North, with almost 60% of construction workers being furloughed in August 2020.

The skills gap in the region’s electricity and gas, engineering and construction sectors is likely to increase by 2022. Drax is playing its part to ensure people in Yorkshire and the Humber region have the skills needed for these new green jobs; capturing the opportunity for green economic recovery and regeneration in the North. Government support for our ambition is paramount to levelling-up the region and enabling the entire UK to build back greener.

"The boost to the economy created by developing these new green energy technologies in the Yorkshire and Humber region would be huge – and we can do it quickly."

Will Gardiner, CEO, Drax Group

“Ensuring local people have the skills needed to take full advantage of the opportunities created by these new energy technologies is critical. The government as well as businesses, training providers, schools, colleges and communities must come together to support this initiative, so we’re ready to make the proposals a reality.”

Lia Nici MP, Great Grimsby

"We want to lead in carbon capture and storage. A technology I barely believed was possible but now I’m a complete evangelist."

Boris Johnson, Prime Minister

BECCS will future-proof the regional and UK economy

£637 million

As a result of Drax BECCS project

£3.1 billion

As a result of deploying CCUS & hydrogen in the Humber

£13.9 billion

As a result of deploying CCUS & hydrogen across the UK

Drax’s BECCS facility together with the deployment of CCUS and hydrogen will help Yorkshire and the Humber, as well as the UK, by creating a £3.1bn benefit to the economy

It is crucial that industry in Yorkshire and the Humber is transformed so that it can thrive. BECCS will reduce emissions and support the Humber’s industry to operate against a backdrop of tighter emissions targets; this will preserve some 55,000 jobs in addition to the jobs created.

  • The deployment of CCUS and hydrogen in the Humber means the creation of a £3.1bn economic uplift, including a £1.8bn direct benefit and a £1.4bn benefit in the supply chain.
  • As a result of Drax’s BECCS project alone, there will be a £673m uplift in 2028; £550m direct and £529m indirect.
  • Bringing the benefits of CCUS and hydrogen to the UK would mean £13.9bn in economic uplift.

Capturing carbon at Drax: Delivering jobs, clean growth and levelling up the Humber. Click to view executive summary and case studies from Vivid Economics report for Drax.

Capturing Carbon at Drax: Delivering jobs, clean growth and levelling up the Humber

Vivid Economics report for Drax

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"With the development of a Zero Carbon Humber, within less than five years, this region could be at the forefront of the government’s green industrial revolution. Tens of thousands of jobs could be protected and created, supporting the North as it bounces forward from the Covid pandemic."

Andrew Percy MP, Brigg and Goole

"Developing CCUS infrastructure will contribute to the economic transformation of the UK’s industrial regions, enhancing the long-term competitiveness of UK industry in a global net zero economy. It will help decarbonise our most challenging sectors, provide low carbon power and a pathway to negative emissions."

The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution

“Coronavirus has had a significant impact on our business communities. To help them restart, rebuild and renew, the government will need to set a clear framework and invest in greener, more sustainable technologies to not only meet our carbon goals, but help boost local growth and create the jobs of the future.”

Adam Marshall, Director General, British Chamber of Commerce

Carbon removal, net zero and climate change

Carbon removal technologies are a vital part of a solution that also includes decarbonising all sectors of the economy, deploying more renewables, hydrogen and electric vehicles as well as improving energy efficiency and changing the way we live.

All are needed to achieve net zero in the UK by 2050 and to help combat the global climate crisis.

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is the most scalable technology available today to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere through what’s known as negative emissions.

We are pioneering BECCS at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire. Find out more.

Decarbonise. Revitalise. It's time to look to the North.