Greenskill have been shortlisted as one of the Carbon Capture & Utilisation (CCU) technology providers for the Grangemouth CCU Hub along with Doosan Babcock, OPUS12, Carbon8 Systems Ltd and Deep Branch Biotechnology Ltd. Emitters involved in the hub include; INEOS, Petroineos, DSM, Diageo, CalaChem and Argent Energy Ltd.

The project is being coordinated by Optimat Ltd who have carried out a study for Scottish Enterprise to support Scotland’s ambitions to develop an innovative carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) sector.

In 2017 Scotland emitted around 50 million tonnes of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide (CO2) makes up the majority of this and can be converted into products such as commodity chemicals, biofuels, construction materials, foodstuffs for human consumption and feed for animals. It can, in some situations, simply be supplied as a gas for use in industrial processes.

Traditional chemical routes can produce a number of these products but often require large amounts of energy. Newer, industrial biotechnology (IB) approaches offer a potentially more attractive solution as they require less energy but need to be validated at commercial scale.

This study identified companies and research organisations in Scotland that are actively developing CCU technologies as well as larger CO2 emitters with an interest in implementing these. An Action Plan to support relevant innovation was produced which highlighted a number of initiatives that could be used to overcome obstacles to the adoption of CCU technologies, including:
• Initial networking through the Northern Connection project’s Living Lab to identify early opportunities for collaboration between Scottish and European partners
• Feasibility studies to understand the optimum approach and potential solutions for those emitters with a desire to adopt CCU technologies
• Demonstration facility to evaluate different technology solutions in real-world scenarios, increasing confidence in emitters that these will work and not adversely affect their operations
• Innovation competition to deliver specific solutions, with well-defined outcomes, to a required demand
• Sector innovation network to provide leadership and a focal point for CCU in Scotland and help inform future policy