Cowi and Viridor complete pre-FEED phase of CCS project

Damian McGirr, senior market director, Cowi, said carbon capture and storage is a vital part of reaching net zero by 2050. (Photo: Cowi)

As the owner’s engineer for renewable energy and waste management company, Viridor, Cowi has worked with project stakeholders to develop the Basis of Design for the carbon capture plant as well as project timelines, and risk register.

It also reviewed cost and specifications from vendors for the installation of carbon capture technology at the UK’s largest energy-from-waste (EfW) facility at Runcorn, close to Liverpool in the north west of England.

The Runcorn CCS Project marks Cowi’s first CCS project in the UK and is one of the first 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 (ICC) sequencing process and once operational, the facility will capture around 900,000 t of CO2 each year, 50% of which includes biogenic CO2, removing 450,000 t from the atmosphere annually.

Cowi drew on leading experts to review plans for the integration of CCS technology with the existing 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,” said senior market director Damian MCGirr.

“That’s 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.”

The project will now move into a transition phase ahead of FEED with the CCS technology expected to be deployed by 2025.