The importance of the green project to the North East emerged as the scheme entered a second phase consultation ahead of engineering consultant Aecom submitting for development consent early next year.

The project, spearheaded by client BP and its partners, is set to boost the North East economy by around £450m per year during the build phase.

A four-year construction phase will commence shortly after development consent is granted in the third quarter of 2022.

Before that extensive above and below ground demolition works will be required at the former steelworks site.

Net Zero Teesside (NTZ) aims to decarbonise a group of carbon-intensive Teesside industries as early as 2030.

It will have the potential to capture up to 10m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, the equivalent to the annual energy use of up to three million homes.

Dr. Richard Lowe, AECOM’s director of Power and Industrial Consents said: “Carbon capture, utilisation and storage is an essential part of the transition to net zero in the UK within the next 30 years as it enables the capture of carbon from industrial sources as well as providing flexible low carbon electricity to support renewable electricity generation.”

NZT will be built on regenerated former steelworks land in Redcar.

The first-of-its-kind construction project involves both onshore and offshore work, with a new gas-fired power station, incorporating the latest carbon capture technology.

CO₂ from the power station and local industries will be captured, gathered through a CO₂ pipeline network, compressed and transported for permanent storage at a suitable offshore geological site under the North Sea.

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