Cement producers’ pipeline plans take shape
A consultation process is live for Peak Cluster, a project led by four cement and lime companies aiming to capture the carbon dioxide they generate and store it permanently under the Irish Sea.
Named Peak Cluster, the partnership said the project will help to secure the future of Britain’s cement and lime industries – safeguarding and creating jobs and ensuring a reliable, ‘homemade’ supply of the materials. Combining public sector backing and input from the firms involved, £60m is in place to take things forward at this stage.
As Peak Cluster explains, the production of cement and lime unavoidably generates CO2 – the single largest contributor to climate change.
To meet this challenge, the group said it will use carbon capture technology to lock away CO2 emitted at Holcim’s Cauldon plant, Tarmac’s Tunstead cement plant, Buxton Lime’s Tunstead lime plant and Breedon’s Hope plant.
The CO2 will then be transported in a purpose-built underground pipeline through Cheshire and the Wirral to Morecambe Net Zero, a central CO2 storage facility under the seabed, to be operated by UK energy company, Spirit Energy.
The project is entirely separate from the HyNet programme, for which Liverpool Bay, which has a smaller capacity, is the intended location for carbon storage.
John Egan, Peak Cluster chief executive, said: “Peak Cluster is such an important project for Britian’s economy – helping to protect our vital industries and securing highly-skilled jobs. With cement imports having tripled in the last 20 years, and domestic production at its lowest level since the 1950s, there has never been a greater need to build a resilient, sustainable supply.
“Peak Cluster will be the world’s largest cement and lime decarbonisation project – using proven technology to establish the UK as an international leader in responsible, sustainable manufacturing.”
Derbyshire and Staffordshire firms account for 40% of the UK’s cement supply.
This is the first consultation phase for Peak Cluster, and will run until 27 February.
Early studies for the project began in 2020, and the hoped-for timeline is for the system to be operational by 2032. For that to happen, further consultation later this year would be followed by submission for a development consent order in 2027, with a DCO required by 2029.
Although carbon capture and storage projects haven’t advanced as rapidly in the UK as many would have hoped, a presentation by Egan, hosted on the Peak Cluster website, spells out how in Norway, the Sleipner and Snohvit projects have each been capturing 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, for 27 years and 15 years respectively.
Closer to home, projects advancing include Heidelberg Materials’ work at Padeswood. And heading in the other direction from the East Midlands, infrastructure firm Cadent revealed plans in January for a 90-mile hydrogen pipeline connecting Nottinghamshire to the Humber.
In terms of years, how long will it take to reach storage capacity?
By Drew
Good luck trying to get built through the Wirral. You will meet fierce opposition from residents and disruptors. They dont like their countryside being dug up. And that’s goes for developers who are thinking of submitting speculative applications. Do it at your peril. You may feel emboldened by this government’s relaxation of planning regulations, but be under no illusion — you’ll face fierce opposition and disruption.
By Geoff Lewis
Would there be synergy in agreeing one pipeline for this and HyNet with them then branching off as its hits the coast to the two proposed storage fields. The pipeline proposal already seems to be creating opposition along its route so two pipelines will undoubtedly create more concern.
By Anon