FAQs

The Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline is a proposed onshore pipeline, the vast majority of which is underground, that aims to transport carbon dioxide produced by industrial projects in the Humber region, to secure offshore storage under the North Sea.

The pipeline would begin in Drax in North Yorkshire and run to the coast north of Easington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, via North Lincolnshire.

The Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline is being developed by the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) project on behalf of Net Zero North Sea Storage Limited (who will be the DCO applicant). The shareholders in Net Zero North Sea Storage Limited, bp, Equinor and TotalEnergies, together have significant experience in delivering complex energy projects.

The East Coast Cluster, which serves the industrial powerhouse regions of Teesside and the Humber, has been selected as one of the first two carbon capture, usage, and storage (CCUS) clusters to be taken forward by the UK Government. It includes a diverse mix of projects, including industrial carbon capture, low-carbon hydrogen production, negative emissions power, and power with carbon capture. These technologies are essential for the UK to meet its net zero targets; both regions would also benefit from an influx of green jobs, skills development and supply chain benefits.

By enabling the decarbonisation of a wide range of existing and proposed carbon capture projects, the Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline could help to protect thousands of existing jobs and create and support an average of 25,000 new jobs across Teesside and the Humber from 2030. The Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline has a vital role to play in the decarbonisation of the Humber industrial cluster, and towards the achievement of the UK’s 2050 net zero targets.

At this early stage the pipeline has been designed to enable connections to the consented carbon capture project at Drax, as well as to provide connections to the Keadby, Croxton, Killingholme and Salt End areas, to link to carbon capture projects that were shortlisted by Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in the cluster sequencing process in August 2022. The pipeline would enable a connection to any carbon capture projects in the Humber selected by DESNZ. We expect DESNZ to set out a selection process for East Coast Cluster expansion from 2024.

Carbon capture, usage and storage is a process which removes carbon dioxide emissions from industrial processes and transports them to secure storage areas.

Several industrial sites in the Humber region are developing plans to capture their carbon emissions and we anticipate other carbon capture projects are likely to come forward in the near future.

The Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline is an essential part of carbon capture, usage and storage on the Humber and would provide the infrastructure required to transport the captured carbon dioxide to secure storage.

The carbon dioxide would be stored in geological formations under the North Sea. The offshore transportation infrastructure and storage facility is subject to a different consenting process.

Due to its scale, the Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline project is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) under the Planning Act 2008. This means that it will follow a different process to an ordinary planning application and require a Development Consent Order (DCO). NSIPs were introduced to streamline the consenting process for large infrastructure projects, and make the process fairer and faster for local communities and applicants.

Instead of applying to a local authority for planning permission, the application for the DCO will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate and the final decision will be made by the relevant Secretary of State on behalf of the Government. Local councils and communities have a very important role in helping to inform the evolution of the plans through a process that is set out in the Planning Act 2008 and associated guidance.

The Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline project will help to significantly reduce industrial carbon dioxide emissions in the Humber region, while also bringing economic benefits for the local area. Key benefits of the project include:

Decarbonisation:

• This pipeline is vital to the decarbonisation of industry in Humber - the UK’s most carbon intensive region.
• The Humber is home to a number of fossil fuel power stations and industrial plants that contribute millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year, making it the ideal location for new technologies for clean energy, using Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) technology.
• The project could put the Humber region on the map as a national leader in decarbonising industrial clusters.

Green jobs and economic prosperity:

• Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) infrastructure will enable an influx of green jobs, skills development, and supply chain benefits to the Humber region.
• Collectively this has the potential to add £2bn+ of average gross value added (GVA) up to 2050.

National Grid had previously consulted on proposals for its Humber Low Carbon Pipelines (HLCP) in 2022. The HLCP project is no longer progressing, and National Grid has since left the East Coast Cluster (ECC). The HLCP project proposed two pipelines – one for carbon capture and one for hydrogen, whereas the Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline is only proposing a carbon capture pipeline and associated infrastructure.

The Development Consent Order (DCO) process has therefore restarted, with the Northern Endurance Partnership now proposing the Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline (HCCP) project.

The proposed route corridor for the HCCP project is also different to what was previously proposed by National Grid, although there are similarities in some sections.