South Korean conglomerate Samsung C&T announced yesterday that it is taking a 15% stake in 2Co Energy’s £4.5 billion carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in South Yorkshire.

Samsung C&T and 2Co Energy will now jointly pursue the 650 MW Don Valley development, which is currently in the running for European and UK funding.

The Don Valley Power Project would capture 90% of its CO₂ emissions and provide low-carbon electricity for around a million UK homes.

The captured CO₂ will be used to extract ‘hard to reach’ North Sea oil before being stored permanently in obsolete oil fields.

Samsung C&T will now take on the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the onshore power generation aspect of the project, with support from AMEC, and plans an investment of around £3 billion in the project.

With planning permission already granted, construction could start next year if 2Co Energy is successful in its bid to win financial backing from the UK’s CCS competition fund and the EU's New Entrant Reserve 300 (NER 300) mechanism.

“The Don Valley Power Project is the largest and most cost effective CCS project in Europe and Samsung’s capability, strength and scale now make it Europe’s most deliverable CCS project as well,” says Lewis Gillies, Chief Executive of 2Co Energy.

Yeon-Joo Jung, vice chair and CEO of Samsung C&T says that Samsung wants to be part of a project that is “defining the future of low carbon energy generation”.

“Samsung C&T will work with 2Co Energy in the UK to create an international hub of knowledge and expertise in a vital new technology the rest of the world is looking to pioneer,” he adds.

For further information:
www.secc.co.kr
www.2Coenergy.com

Related stories:
US developer Summit Power to scale CCS (21-Mar)
UK government launches £20 million CCS competition (13-Mar)
E.ON to close Kingsnorth power station and drop CCS plans (9-Mar)
Foster Wheeler Energy to lead 2Co Power’s CCS project (2-Feb)
BOC joins Drax and Alstom’s Yorkshire CCS project (30-Jan)