• Major boost to CCS consortium that already includes ScottishPower and Aker Clean Carbon
• Shell a global leader in offshore operations
• National Grid leading UK provider of pipeline technology
• Consortium bid based on retro-fit project at Longannet power station

Shell U.K Limited (Shell) and National Grid are joining ScottishPower’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) consortium, as the energy company sets out to deliver the UK’s first commercial size CCS system operating from a coal-fired power station by 2014. The Consortium is forging ahead with this new technology to help Britain lead the way in tackling climate change.  The Consortium is in the process of submitting a bid for the UK Government’s CCS competition.

Announcing the appointments ScottishPower Chief Executive, Nick Horler, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Shell and National Grid to the team. Both of these companies will bring specialist knowledge, expertise and opportunities for growth in the development of this cutting edge technology. For the consortium the two new companies represent a ‘perfect fit’ as it strives to reduce CO2 emissions by 90% from its power plant at Longannet in Scotland”. 

Shell is a global leader in exploration and production of oil and gas and is already taking part in a variety of projects to capture and geologically store CCS - this makes the company ideally placed to be part of the CCS consortium.

Meanwhile National Grid is the owner and operator of the UK’s gas pipeline system and has expertise in high-pressure pipelines. The companies are joining the Norwegian CO2 removal specialists Aker Clean Carbon in the ScottishPower consortium.

Mr Horler added:

 “For ScottishPower, the fact that a company of the size and scope of Shell has chosen to join our Carbon Capture consortium is a considerable coup and a significant boost to our bid. The addition of Shell and National Grid to an already first class team represents an even greater chance of developing a technology that will be vital in tackling climate change.

 “Shell’s experience of working offshore in the North Sea is clearly critical – not only in terms of the potential for CO2 storage in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, but because transport and storage of CO2 will demand many of the same engineering and subsurface skills on which the oil and gas industry has depended for many decades.

“I believe the inclusion of National Grid as a non-exclusive partner into the consortium is an indication of how far our plans have advanced, as we have now reached a stage where it’s right to involve the UK’s leading pipeline operator”.

John Gallagher, Vice President - from Shell said:
“We are delighted to be joining the ScottishPower led CCS Consortium.  Shell believes CCS is a technology that will be vital to tackling climate change and we believe that at this stage it is essential that we ‘learn by doing’ in order to reduce costs, accelerate technology and ultimately make CCS commercially viable.”

“The core business of the oil and gas industry is the handling of gas and liquids above and below the surface – that makes companies like Shell very well placed to help deliver CCS.  The opportunities that exist in Scotland and the North Sea should be maximised wherever possible.”

“Establishing a substantial capability in CCS is a key element in Shell’s CO2 mitigation strategy and we are therefore spearheading efforts to facilitate its development and wide-scale deployment – on both a political and technical level.  We are involved in a wide range of demonstration projects around the world, including US/Canada, Germany, Australia and Norway; plus more than 20 research projects worldwide.”

“We welcome the UK Government’s commitment to delivering up to four CCS projects in the UK.  The competition and the additional funding mechanism for demonstration projects can provide the framework for the UK to be a real leader in the development of CCS.  However, we do not underestimate the challenges that lie between a successful project and us.    We will have to surmount significant technical and economic hurdles by working together across industry, Government and society to find solutions that work.”

Chris Train, National Grid's Director for Network Operations said:
"National Grid's expertise in high pressure gas pipelines makes us the natural partner for CCS projects, and we are delighted to be contributing to the Scottish Power consortium.  Bringing together different areas of expertise in this way is key to unlocking the enormous benefits from CCS: reducing emissions while helping to maintain security of supply.  The Longannet project also presents a potential opportunity to reuse some of our existing natural gas transmission pipelines in Scotland for CO2 transportation as North Sea gas supplies decline, helping the scheme to a running start."

Media Information

ScottishPower - Simon McMillan - 0141 566 4875 / 07753 622 257
Shell - Marion Gibson - 01224 882243
National Grid - Stuart Larque - 01926 655274

Note to editors

ScottishPower is one of the leaders in the UK Government’s competition to develop a commercial scale Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project. The company recently switched-on a prototype carbon capture test unit at Longannet power station in Fife - the first time anywhere in the UK that carbon capture technology has been working on a coal fired power station. This will help prove the chemistry of carbon capture and uses the same technology that can be retrofitted by 2014 as part of the UK Government’s CCS competition.

ScottishPower’s parent company Iberdrola, the fourth largest energy company in the world, recently confirmed that it will establish a global Centre of Excellence to develop CCS technology in the UK. As part of this the company will be funding a Chair in Carbon Capture and Storage at the University of Edinburgh to provide an academic focus for the Centre of Excellence.Shell U.K Limited (Shell) and National Grid are joining ScottishPower’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) consortium, as the energy company sets out to deliver the UK’s first commercial size CCS system operating from a coal-fired power station by 2014.Shell U.K Limited (Shell) and National Grid are joining ScottishPower’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) consortium, as the energy company sets out to deliver the UK’s first commercial size CCS system operating from a coal-fired power station by 2014.