While there are currently no active large-scale projects in the UK for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) or H2 storage, there are several plans for setting up centres around the country to reduce CO2 emissions. These include:
• CCS or CCUS (Carbon Capture Usage and Storage) from power stations & industrial plants
• Hydrogen generation with CCS
• Hydrogen Storage
You will, no doubt, have heard the announcement which the Government made on the 19th October regarding the UK’s Net Zero Strategy. Two industrial clusters have been selected for the first phase for developing decarbonisation – the East Coast Cluster and the HyNet Cluster. The Scottish cluster (Acorn project) is being held in reserve.
1.2. The task
In this assignment, you are asked to write a short report on the current plans for the UK centres (clusters) which are being set up to reduce emissions. These centres include north-east Scotland (Acorn), north-east England (Net Zero Teesside, Zero Carbon Humber and Northern Endurance Partnership) and north-west England (HyNet). There is plenty of information on these sites on the internet. If you find any other relevant information, you may include this in your report. The type of information to include is listed below.
The report should start with an introduction describing the following:
• UK and global emissions
• The locations and sources of the largest emitters?
• The emissions gap.
This should be followed by an outline of the processes involved in CCS, and in hydrogen storage.
• Location of site – onshore/offshore
• Companies involved
• The processes which will be carried out
• Any statistics you can find on the planned processes. This could include the following:
o Amount of CO2 stored
o Amount of energy used or produced
o Amount of hydrogen produced or stored
o Dates
o Funding
You may not be able to find all this information for every centre.
Note that, although the Scottish cluster is being kept in reserve by the Government, it is due to be developed later, and you should not ignore it.
Your report should finish with a conclusion. In particular, from your reading for this assignment, how likely is it, in your opinion, that the UK will be able to reduce the emissions gap, and achieve net zero emissions by 2045 (Scotland) or 2050 (England)?
Remember to include a list of references. You may include figures. The report should be approximately 2000 words long. Any text within tables, figures, or captions, as well as your reference list should not be included in the word limit.
1.3. Learning Outcomes Addressed by this Assignment
This assignment addresses the following course learning outcomes and these are reflected in the assessment criteria.
• Description of processes involved in CCS
o Capture, transport, storage, and monitoring
• Report writing skills, including critical appraisal, discussion and argument.
• Information finding and appropriate referencing of cited materials.
1.4. Assessment Criteria and Feedback
The assignment is assessed using the following criteria which are weighted accordingly.
Weighting
Introduction
Background, setting the scene, clearly laying out the scope of the report. 25
Literature Review
Thoroughly researched and clearly presented description of clusters. 60
Conclusion
Discussion of capability of UK to reduce emission gap / achieve net zero 10
Presentation
Overall quality of report (style, language, structure, layout). 5
Total 100
1.5. Style and layout
Your report should be written using a standard font (Times New Roman, Ariel, or Calibri) with a font size of 12 for the text body, and 14 for the main section headers. You should use line spacing of 1.5.