Humber's 'critical role' in decarbonisation could support thousands of jobs, Drax-commissioned research suggests

In the most optimistic scenario, this could generate and support an extra 42,000 jobs in The Humber. On the basis of current policy commitments, around 33,000 jobs could be created in the region.

The report suggested that making the UK a “world-leader” in carbon capture would potentially result in 330,000 jobs across the North of England and £22bn a year being added to the economy from 2050 onward.

The research has been commissioned by Drax Group, which hopes to establish a carbon capture project in the region which would involve a process known as BECCS (bioenergy for carbon capture and storage) where emissions would be stored under the North Sea.

Drax Power Station near Selby produces around 12 per cent of the UK’s renewable electricity, by burning biomass fuel, which is mainly wood pellets imported from North America.

Its BECCS plan is part of broader efforts to decarbonise the industry-heavy Humber region.

In March, the Government announced £20bn of funding for CCS ‘Track-1’ programmes but the eight supported projects were not in the Humber region. Further support is expected to be granted to other projects next year.

The report said that the region “will play a critical role in reaching Government’s decarbonisation targets” thanks in part to having access to 80 per cent of UK’s licenced CO2 storage capacity.

It added: “If the Humber is able, and enabled, to move quickly to adopt CCS technologies, either through Track 1 or Track 2 cluster processes, it will offer growth opportunities for the region, as well as benefits for industries, communities and consumers that will reverberate around the UK.

"If the Government makes the UK a global first mover, then it will spell economic success for regions across the nation.

"Areas like the Humber will see significant benefits through investment and the creation and safeguarding of jobs for those who have worked in the region for generations.”

Richard Gwilliam, UK BECCS Programme Director at Drax Group, said: “Carbon capture and removals can be a catalyst for growth, stronger energy security, increasing employment and reaching Net Zero in the UK. This research demonstrates that if the UK puts its foot on the accelerator and expands the rollout of CCS Clusters across the country, a unique prize worth tens of billions of pounds to the economy and hundreds of thousands of jobs is within reach.

“At Drax, we want to play our part in ensuring the UK becomes a global leader in CCS and that is why we are working towards installing two bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) units at Drax Power Station. This would see us become a key part of a Humber-based carbon capture cluster and we are currently working on routes to deployment through the Track 1 Expansion and Track 2 processes.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​