Investing in a pioneering carbon capture business

The UK has set a target of net zero emissions by 2050. Achieving this, as independent bodies such as the Climate Change Committee have emphasised, requires action to decarbonise so-called ‘hard to abate’ industries such as aviation, steel and cement, chemicals and refineries.

Alongside hydrogen and other low-carbon technologies, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is increasingly being seen as an important means of reducing industrial carbon emissions. CCS works by capturing the carbon dioxide (CO₂) produced from industrial activities and power generation processes, transporting the gas and then storing it underground.

With Macquarie’s support, Storegga has grown from a developer of a single decarbonisation project to an international developer of multiple decarbonisation technologies in just two years.  It is best known as the lead developer of the Acorn Hydrogen and Acorn CCS projects, which are some of the UK’s most advanced carbon capture and storage initiatives. The projects will repurpose existing oil and gas infrastructure, including a depleted offshore gas reservoir, to store CO₂ in north east Scotland. It is currently in the engineering and design phase of development and is planned to be operational by the mid-2020s. It aims to store 20 million tonnes per year (Mtpa) of CO₂ in its first decade of operation.

Storegga is developing both green and blue hydrogen projects in the UK and Europe’s first utility scale (up to 1Mtpa) DAC plant located in northeast Scotland.

Storegga also announced the launch of Scotland’s first major green hydrogen project in Cromarty, with partner Scottish Power, earlier in 2022.  The project will supply local distilleries – Diageo, Glenmorangie and Whyte & Mackay with clean energy.