NEWS & INSIGHTS | Opinion
UK backs largest cement decarbonisation project with £28.6M
Luca Corradi
Luca works to bring “the outside in”, connecting innovators and academics across sectors and disciplines, to explore the latest technologies that could be adopted to address oil and gas industry challenges. Leading The Net Zero Technology Centre’s horizon scanning activity, he identifies emerging technology trends, cutting through the hype to identify potential areas of impact and application. With a background in business and organisational change leadership, Luca has developed a strong network and is passionate about harnessing this to deliver the next generation of the net zero energy industry.
Outside work Luca loves reading, music and travel. He is married with two young daughters and a dog. He enjoys the rare motorbike ride in Scotland and even rarer ski trip on the Alps.
This week’s net zero news: Floating Offshore Wind Foundations; Peak Cluster Funding; Turquoise Hydrogen Pilot
Chief Technology Officer at NZTC, Luca Corradi, and his team closely monitor the global net zero landscape. They follow the trends, policies, investments, and technological innovations that, together, bring the world closer to its shared climate goals. Learn more about our horizon scanning service. This week, Luca and his team look at a review of shortlisted floating offshore wind foundation designs, the largest cement decarbonisation project, and a turquoise hydrogen project.
The most suitable floating offshore wind foundation designs for the North Sea from a pool of 107 options
OpenWater Renewables Ltd (OWRL) recently completed a study for the UK Technology Leadership Board (TLB) to identify the most suitable floating offshore wind (FOW) hull concepts for North Sea conditions.
Five concepts were identified to have reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 or 7 and be suitable for North Sea projects. To widen the pool, they also evaluated concepts at TRL 5 or lower. These earlier-stage designs would require accelerated development to reach TRL 7 in time for deployment in wind farms targeted for 2030–2035.
Ultimately, the study shortlisted the top 15 concepts, regardless of their current TRL.
The two highest-ranked concepts are both concrete (1 barge and 1 semi-sub), reflecting the material’s durability and low maintenance requirement, lowest capital expenditure (CAPEX), and suitability for UK construction. A further concrete barge is also included in the shortlist.
Ten steel semi-subs are shortlisted. Steel semi-subs are the most numerous in the FOW development pipeline but are likely to be more expensive and require more maintenance than concrete hulls as the structures age.
The other concepts are a hybrid steel and concrete barge moored by a single point mooring (SPM), and a steel Tension Leg Platforms (TLP).
Image source: Assessment of Floating Wind Turbine Foundations for North Sea Conditions Report
Peak Cluster secures £28.6 million to build CO₂ pipeline from cement and lime plants to Morecambe storage site
The National Wealth Fund will invest £28.6 million into the ‘world’s largest cement decarbonisation project’ – Peak Cluster. The funding will support the development of a pipeline to transport CO2 from cement and lime plants in the Peak District to be stored in Morecombe Net Zero. The funding will unlock £31 million from private partners including Holcim, Tarmac, Breedon, SigmaROC, Summit Energy Evolution and Progressive Energy.
The Peak District project will capture CO2 from 40% of the country’s production of cement and lime, and will prevent over three million metric tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year.
Cement and lime are foundation materials for many UK industries including construction, manufacturing and environmental functions. They are two of the hardest industrial sectors to decarbonise due to the high levels of emissions which cannot be abated through transitioning to low carbon fuels. Achieving net zero cement at pace and scale will rely on CCUS.
Globally there are a growing number of carbon capture projects on cement plants. In May, the ‘world’s first CCS facility at scale in the cement industry’ at Brevik in Norway captured its first 1,000 tonnes of CO2.
Tulum Energy are developing a novel methane pyrolysis technology that they anticipate can be cost competitive with grey hydrogen
Milan-based Tulum Energy – a startup producing low carbon hydrogen solutions for industrial applications – has raised $27 million in seed funding to kick off a methane pyrolysis (turquoise hydrogen) pilot plant in Mexico. The round was co-led by TDK Ventures and CDP Venture Capital, with participation from Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, MITO Tech Ventures, and TechEnergy Ventures.
Talum was founded in 2024 and is a spin out of Techint Group – a global leader in steel, engineering and energy.
With technical backing from Tenova, Tulum aims to commercialise a scalable approach to hydrogen production, utilising proven electric arc furnace (EAF) technology to produce hydrogen and solid carbon.
Key advantages of the technology include:
- Efficiency: approximately 5x more energy efficient than the best green hydrogen methods
- Scalability: By using EAF technology, which is commonly used in steel production above 100MW, Tulum can scale up the technology to meet industrial demand
- Cost Competitive: Tulum targets hydrogen production at $1.50 per kilogram in the U.S., compared to $1.00 for traditional methods whilst achieving up to 95% reduction in emissions
- Non-catalytic technology
- Reduced footprint: Requires 8 times less land than green hydrogen facilities.
Source: Tulum Energy
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