The Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership Inward Investment Award was won by Tata Chemicals Europe for building the UK’s first industrial-scale Carbon Capture & Utilisation Demonstration Plant which converts waste CO2 into a valuable raw material for the manufacture of sodium bicarbonate.
Martin Ashcroft, Managing Director of Tata Chemicals Europe said; “Climate change poses a real opportunity for businesses to innovate and develop their practices. We’re very grateful for this award which acknowledges the large investment Tata has committed to carbon capture technology. Reducing our carbon emissions has been an ambition of Tata Chemicals for a long time now, and with the completion of the UK’s first industrial scale carbon capture and utilisation plant we can recycle more than 10% of the carbon dioxide we produce. Tata Chemicals is committed to investing into a net-zero future.”
Clare Hayward, Chair of Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership who presented the award added; “Cheshire and Warrington’s sustainable economic growth will be achieved partly through businesses’ inward investments, no matter how big or small. Tata Chemicals has achieved something very impressive with their carbon capture and utilisation plant which really puts the idea of circular economic modelling centre stage. By seeing the potential in their by-product, Tata Chemicals have made a big step forward in reducing their emissions. Being the first large-scale plant of its kind in the UK, this investment, along with the investments of the other shortlisted organisations: Fulcrum BioEnergy and Stellantis, shows how the North West and North Wales can lead and be a source of inspiration for the rest of the country in achieving net-zero.”
The judges said; “This £17M investment in CCU, bringing together public and private finance, is already having a major impact on North West carbon emissions. It is truly game changing innovation for the Chemical sector. Already generating heat and electricity from one of the most efficient combined heat and power plants in the UK, the carbon footprint of Tata’s operations in Northwich is set to be significantly reduced. This plant will enable a considerable proportion of the CO2 produced by the CHP to be recycled and used as a raw material to produce sodium bicarbonate.”
Photo: Tata Chemicals’ Carbon Capture & Utilisation Plant in Northwich, Cheshire with Tom Murphy, Carbon Capture and Utilisation Plant Manager (left), Martin Ashcroft, Managing Director of Tata Chemicals (right) and Jane Harrad-Roberts, Project Director of Green Expo (centre).