A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Acorn Project partners (Storegga, Shell and Harbour Energy) and INEOS and Petroineos at Grangemouth to work together on the initiative which aims to capture and store approximately one million tonnes a year of CO2 by 2027, with the scope to capture further significant volumes beyond this date. 

The plan is for the operation to cover the entire Grangemouth site and to link Scotland’s “industrial heartland” to the Acorn CO2 transport and storage system in north east Scotland.

The organisations said the move presents a pathway for Scotland to help meet its ambitious climate targets through effective carbon capture and storage. INEOS and Petroineos are the latest big industrial emitters to join the Scottish Cluster, which makes use of the Acorn Project infrastructure to enable CCS, hydrogen and other low carbon technologies in Scotland and across the UK.

The Acorn project is currently in the front end engineering and design phase of development and is planned to be operational by the mid-2020s, with the potential of achieving more than half of the 10Mt/yr of CO2 storage targeted by the UK Government’s Ten Point Plan for a green Industrial Revolution by 2030.

Nick Cooper, CEO of Storegga, the lead developer of the Acorn Project, said: “The Acorn Project partners (Storegga, Shell and Harbour Energy) are delighted that INEOS and Petroineos have entered into an MOU with Acorn, which is a really significant step in managing Scotland’s industrial emissions. The Acorn CCS and hydrogen project is advanced, highly scalable and has clear visibility of a large CO2 customer base. Acorn provides critical carbon reduction infrastructure to the growing Scottish Cluster of emitters and to the wider UK.”

Andrew Gardner, chairman INEOS Grangemouth, said: “INEOS and Petroineos at Grangemouth recognise the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our industrial processes. As one of Scotland’s largest manufacturers and employers, we acknowledge that we are operating a CO2 intensive industry and we have a significant role to play in helping Scotland reach its Net Carbon Zero target by 2045.

“We have already made significant reductions since taking ownership of the site and we are delighted to be taking this further by supporting the Acorn CCS Scottish Cluster bid. Once operational, the carbon capture and storage system will provide an essential route to permanently and safely capture and store CO2 emissions for large industrial emitters throughout Scotland with significant positive impact for Climate Change and the country.”