Pale Blue Dot speaks to OGV Energy about their flagship CCS & Hydrogen Acorn Project

Pale Blue Dot Energy

Pale Blue Dot Energy Ltd is a UK-based low carbon project developer and advisory business for the energy transition. As energy sector specialists we deliver support in three key areas: Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage, Emerging Energy Systems and the Oil & Gas Transition.

Pale Blue Dot Energy is leading development of the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Hydrogen Projects at the St Fergus Gas Terminal in Aberdeenshire, which is progressing with support from the European Union, Scottish Government, UK Government and industry funding from Total plc and Pale Blue Dot Energy. The Acorn Hydrogen Project has the potential to initiate the UK’s large-scale decarbonisation of heat, by replacing or blending natural gas with hydrogen in the gas grid. Pale Blue Dot Energy is a leader in hydrogen production from natural gas and CCS.

Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS)

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a technology that prevents the carbon dioxide that come from burning fossil fuel emissions entering the atmosphere. The technology can be applied to coal and gas power stations, industrial emissions or other point sources of CO2. Even if we build no more fossil fuel power stations, CCS is essential to decarbonise our existing emissions.

CO2 utilisation involves the re-use of CO2 to manufacture products. Doing so can help minimise further fossil fuel use.

Pale Blue Dot has provided support to many CCS projects and supported the development of the regulatory and commercial framework for CCS in the UK.  Pale Blue Dot have considerable experience of CO2 storage appraisal, industrial CO2 emissions capture projects, facilities costing and project economics and full chain CCS project matters. Pale Blue Dot’s project experience also includes consideration of the value from CO2 re-use, including direct CO2 sales, mineralisation and manufacture of other products and feedstocks.

Project Summary

One of these projects is Acorn, based in north east Scotland. As the developer of Acorn, a recognised European Project of Common Interest, the team at Pale Blue Dot Energy has been working in the UK CCS space for well over a decade. Acorn has been designed specifically to learn from the past and be robust for the future – a low-cost option that makes best use of legacy oil and gas infrastructure in order to unlock the very large scale CO2 storage potential of the UK Central North Sea and support emitters in Scotland, elsewhere in the UK and all around the North Sea basin.  The St Fergus Gas Terminal is where 35% of the UK’s carbon in the form of natural gas supply comes onshore. Some of this natural gas could be converted into hydrogen and then blended into the national gas transmission system as it is sent to market.  The resulting waste CO2 would then be transported back offshore for underground storage. This would go some way in decarbonising our gas heating system. Projects such as H21 Leeds Citygate and SGN’s H100 are researching the technical and economic feasibility of converting the gas grid to 100% hydrogen.

2018 saw Acorn become the first ever CCS project to receive funding under the European Commission’s Connecting Europe Facility. This funding was matched by both the UK and Scottish Governments, along with Pale Blue Dot Energy and Total E&P UK, representing a significant milestone for CCS in Europe. The year was topped off with the award of the first ever Lease Option for carbon dioxide storage from Crown Estate Scotland, the first ever carbon dioxide appraisal and storage licence by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) and representing UK CCUS at the United Nations 24th Conference of Parties in Poland; 2018 was a busy year, and 2019 is showing no sign of slowing. The feasibility work for Acorn CCS concluded in March 2019 and option select and the front-end engineering design (FEED) is now underway.