Drax admits lack of data about its own BECCS proposals

Written Responses from Drax Consultation Team from between 17th and 23rd of December 2021

Drax has also responded to questions from Biofuelwatch during a consultation in March 2021, in which it admitted that it had no real-world for capturing carbon from their biomass units.

Some observations:

1) There’s no data about the amount of energy that will be required to capture CO2 from the plant;

2) There’s no data on the reliability of the technology;

3) Drax has not achieved continuous operation of carbon capture.

Biofuelwatch (17/12/21): Hi there. Thank you for holding this consultation. I have three questions I’d like to ask if I may.

1) How much CO2 has been captured and how much has been stored as part of the joint trial with MHI and over what period?

2) What percentage of CO2 from a biomass unit do you expect to capture in future?

3) Has it been established through the trial how much of a biomass unit’s electricity will be required to capture a set proportion of CO2? Are there trial results from which to deduce the energy penalty?

Drax (17/12/21): Many thanks for your questions

1) I do not have this information to hand, but I can liaise with the project team and get back to you separately via email or telephone.

2) BECCS at Drax has the potential to capture 8 million tonnes of carbon each year in Selby alone – a significant proportion of the 53m tonnes CO2 per year the CCC says are required from BECCS for the UK to become net zero. Again, I do not have this as a percentage, but I can get this information to you.

3) We do not have the exact figures to hand, but I can speak to a project engineer to source this information for you

Drax (19/12/21): Many thanks for participating in the Drax live chat session yesterday. Please find answers to your questions below

1) How much CO2 has been captured and how much has been stored as part of the joint trial with MHI and over what period?

The carbon capture pilot captures around 250 kg/h of CO2. The purpose of the trial was to provide data on the capture of CO2 from biomass flue gas that will help to validate the full-scale design of the capture system.

The CO2 was released into the flue gas stream after capture, as there is not yet any CO2 transportation & storage infrastructure in place for permanent sequestration.

2) What percentage of CO2 from a biomass unit do you expect to capture in future?

The plant will be designed to capture up to 95% of the CO2 in the flue gas

3) Has it been established through the trial how much of a biomass unit’s electricity will be required to capture a set proportion of CO2? Are there trial results from which to deduce the energy penalty?

This was not within the scope of the trial, however, it has been an important consideration in the selection of the vendor and energy efficiency is an essential part of the project design. Specific values are commercially confidential at this point, but this aspect will be considered in the relevant chapter of the Environmental Statement.

Biofuelwatch (22/12/2021): For how many hours have you been able to capture 250Kg/hour without interruption?

Drax (23/12/2021): In response to your questions, the trial unit has been running since mid-2020, during which time it has been regularly taken in and out of operation. The aim of the trial was to not to prove operational reliability, as a pilot plant is not representative of a large-scale process in that regard. Instead, the trial has been successful in its aim of providing data on the interaction of the carbon capture solvent with Drax flue gas.