Contracts available at multi-billion pound carbon capture scheme
Energy company Drax is seeking contractors for its multi-billion pound bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project at Drax Power Station, in Selby.
The business is teaming up with Worley – its engineering, procurement and construction partner – UK energy sector business development organisation NOF, and the West & North Yorkshire and Hull & Humber Chambers of Commerce to stage an event showing businesses how they can win hundreds of millions of pounds worth of contracts to deliver BECCS.
It will be held in The Double Tree by Hilton in Hull, in May, and follows an initial supplier event held in September 2021, when around 400 UK businesses attended.
Drax has previously said it aims to source 80% of construction materials and services from British firms and build a UK supply chain for BECCS, ahead of construction getting underway as soon as 2024 with the creation of around 10,000 jobs.
Graham Backhouse, Drax’s commercial director for the project, said: “We want to put British businesses at the heart of our plans to deliver BECCS, allowing them to benefit from hundreds of millions of pounds worth of new contracts.
“Negative emissions technologies like BECCS will play a vital role in enabling the UK to reach its net zero goals, as well as creating exciting opportunities for Britain to lead the world in a vital technology, creating a new sector of the economy, as well as export opportunities.
“Our programme of events is a great opportunity for businesses to get involved and learn more about the project – we encourage companies of all sizes across the region to come along and find out more about how they might benefit from the contracts available.”
Bradley Andrews, president at Worley, said: “We’re supporting the investment and scale up of the UK supply chain to maximise local business participation working alongside Drax, NOF and Worley’s e-procurement partner, Requis.
“Requis provides a digitally enabled platform where qualified suppliers can register their materials and services in line with what’s required for the project scope, driving opportunity for the UK supply market.”
Joanne Leng, chief executive at NOF, added: “NOF has now delivered a significant number of supplier engagement activities on behalf of major clients in the energy industry.
“We are now working on the BECCS project with Drax and Worley who have both demonstrated a strong commitment to working with the local and wider UK supply chain and through NOF’s support they aim to ensure that as much UK content as possible is included in this project.
“The domestic supply chain is innovative, capable and competitive, it is world class so let’s utilise this experience and expertise on the project.”
