Uniper selects SLB for Connah’s Quay CCS infrastructure

Uniper has appointed SLB Capturi to supply the carbon capture and storage technology required for its proposed power station at Connah’s Quay, a central component of the wider HyNet industrial cluster. The selected licensor will facilitate the removal of emissions generated by the facility before they are transported via an adjacent pipeline network currently under construction within the scheme.

Once captured, the carbon dioxide is intended to be permanently stored in depleted offshore gas fields located beneath the East Irish Sea. This development follows a period of significant progress for HyNet, which has secured over three billion pounds in investment and received government approval for two flagship projects designed to utilise its transport infrastructure under Liverpool Bay.

The Connah’s Quay Low Carbon Power project is scheduled to be constructed on land adjacent to Uniper’s existing power station. If the development consent process proceeds successfully, the first operational phase could commence by 2030. This initial stage aims to deliver approximately half of the plant’s total potential output before a later expansion reaches full capacity.

At maximum operating levels for its planned one point three eight gigawatt station, the facility is expected to capture up to four point seven million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. The venture currently supports other major initiatives including the Orsted Kalundborg hub and facilities in Norway and Denmark. This marks SLB Capturi’s first project based within the United Kingdom.

The North West region has established itself as a leading example for national decarbonisation efforts following funding secured through the track-one cluster programme. The Encyclis Protos resource recovery park aims to capture over three hundred and eighty thousand tonnes per year, while Heidelberg’s Padeswood facility targets eight hundred thousand tonnes.

The alliance recently entered into a lease with the Crown Estate granting access to seabed rights in the East Irish Sea. Pipelines connected to this network are projected to store more than one hundred million tonnes of carbon from various industrial emitters across the region, reinforcing the area’s position as a guiding example for future energy transitions.