Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has today (25 January) welcomed news that global energy company bp has submitted bids to government to secure support for two major low carbon energy projects in the region.

The bp-operated Net Zero Teesside Power project (NZT Power) and bp’s H2Teesside hydrogen project have submitted bids into Phase 2 of the Government’s Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) cluster sequencing process. If the bids are successful, the projects will be eligible for government support as they continue their development.

NZT Power, a joint venture between bp and Equinor, is aiming to be the UK’s first fully integrated commercial-scale gas-fired power station with carbon capture. It could provide enough power for up to 1.3 million homes while capturing up to 2million tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year. This would be transported and securely stored under the North Sea by the Northern Endurance Partnership project – a joint venture between bp, Equinor, National Grid Ventures, Shell, and Total Energies – which bp leads as operator.

H2Teesside, announced in March 2021, is a “blue” hydrogen production facility aiming to start up in 2027 and produce 1GW of hydrogen from natural gas by 2030, which is 20% of the low-carbon hydrogen production goal stated in the Government’s Ten Point Plan for net zero. bp has signed agreements with a number of industrial customers in the region to explore their potential use of hydrogen.

The two projects are at the heart of plans to decarbonise one of the most important and energy-intensive industrial clusters in the UK, meet Government’s net zero ambitions and drive forward the region as a clean energy powerhouse.

This news follows Government’s selection in October 2021 of the Northern Endurance Partnership’s East Coast Cluster, including NZT Power, as one of the UK’s first carbon capture, usage and storage clusters following a successful bid as part of Phase 1 of Government’s CCUS cluster sequencing process.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: ““H2Teesside and Net Zero Teesside Power will deliver thousands of good-quality, well-paid jobs for people across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool in the cleaner, safer and healthier industries and of the future, marking our region out as a pioneer in low carbon innovation.

“These two ground-breaking projects are putting our scientists and engineers at the forefront of developing the key technologies that will be needed the world over if we are to reduce emissions – making our region a global centre of excellence for hydrogen and carbon capture technology.

“Carbon capture is not just important for meeting our ambitious target for the UK to be net zero by 2050, its essential for decarbonising our world-leading processing and chemicals industries and safeguarding thousands of skilled, well-paid jobs in the process.”

“bp’s support for our region doesn’t just end with these projects. Its commitment to employment and education will provide a real boost to the current and future workforce. It’s fantastic that through these projects we can quickly maximise the potential of sites like Teesworks and Teesside Freeport for the good of everyone living here.”

Louise Kingham, bp’s UK head of country and senior vice president of Europe, said: “bp is backing Teesside, and these bids represent an important milestone in its development as a clean energy hub. With its tightly clustered heavy industry and proud industrial heritage, it is perfectly placed for a net zero future. We’re excited to bring our ambition and expertise to help.”

Leader of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, Councillor Mary Lanigan, said: “This is another vital step forward as we continue to attract globally important industry to our borough which will bring high quality jobs, safeguard thousands of others and deliver on our plan to radically reduce carbon emissions.”