International engineering consulting group, COWI, has completed the pre-FEED stage on a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Runcorn. As the owners’ engineer for renewable energy and waste management company, Viridor, COWI worked with project stakeholders to develop the Basis of Design for the carbon capture plant as well as project timelines, and risk register. COWI also reviewed cost and specifications from vendors for the installation of carbon capture technology at the UK’s largest energy-from-waste (EfW) facility near Liverpool.
The Runcorn CCS Project marks COWI’s first CCS project in the UK and is one of the first energy-from-waste (EfW) facilities in the world to have the technology fitted. It was recently shortlisted for the final stage in the Government’s industrial carbon capture sequencing process and, once operational, the facility will capture roughly 900,000 tonnes of CO2 each year, removing 450,000 tonnes from the atmosphere annually.
Leveraging its international expertise, COWI has drawn on leading experts to review plans for the integration of CCS technology with the existing EfW plant in collaboration with project stakeholders. Several optimisations were put forward to maximise the energy efficiency of the plant. Adaptations to the condensate cooling design were also recommended to overcome challenges of a limited site footprint.
“Deploying carbon capture and storage in the UK will be pivotal to reaching net zero by 2050. That is why we are thrilled to be working with Viridor on one of the world’s largest carbon capture projects at an energy from waste plant. Projects like this will play a key role in helping the UK reach its goals by accelerating the adoption of CCS technologies in the industrial sector and we are delighted to be part of that journey,” Damian McGirr, senior market director at COWI, said.
The project will now move into a transition phase ahead of FEED with the CCS technology expected to be deployed by 2025.
COWI operates across a large green energy infrastructure portfolio in the UK and Ireland where the company is working on a range of projects including the development of pumped storage schemes, wind, green hydrogen and carbon capture projects. It has committed to supporting the development of sustainable energy and recently announced that it would no longer be supporting fossil fuel projects.
