A NEW Teesside project which aims to decarbonise a cluster of carbon-intensive businesses by 2030 and deliver the UK’s first zero-carbon industrial cluster, went into its second consultation phase today.

The project plans to capture up to 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent to the annual energy use of over 3m UK homes.

Sarah Wilford, Net Zero Teesside HSE manager who is responsible for onshore and offshore HSE impacts and risks, said: "Carbon capture utilisation storage project - that's the term used for a group of processed technologies which remove carbon dioxide from industrial and power plant emissions and that is then compressed and transported by pipeline offshore and securely stored deep underground in carefully selected geological formations, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere."

The project is planning to capture up to 10m tonnes of Co2 emissions a year, which is the equivalent of the annual energy use of up to 3m homes in the UK, it will be the first of its kind in the UK.

Ms Wilford, who works with BP as the HSE manager of the project, said: "The beauty of this is that we're looking to decarbonise both the industry - the industrial sources around the Teesside area, as well as, those power generation.

"Teesside was selected out of about 50 other locations in the UK and it's attractive because of the close connection of industrial sources and also it's close to the shoreline so we can export Co2 offshore."

The stage one consultation was carried out in Autumn last year, where the project was introduced to the community, provided details of the studies being undertaken and outlined the application.

Ms Wilford said: "Following stage one we've undertaken further technical and environmental work on Net Zero Teesside which we will consult on during the stage two consultation. It's about getting further feedback from the community and showing how we've incorporated those stage one feedback comments into our project. We're aiming to help the community and other stakeholders understand all the elements of the project. And provide opportunities for people to give further feedback on the project."

For more on the consultation go to: www.netzeroteesside.co.uk/consultation/