The demonstration center could significantly reduce the cost of low-carbon technology, NZTC said.

The demonstration center could significantly reduce the cost of low-carbon technology, NZTC said. Image: National Grid.

The Net Zero Technology Center (NZTC) stresses the need to set up demonstration centers across the UK to significantly reduce the costs associated with low carbon technologies.

As detailed in its Technology Driving Green Energy Growth report, NZTC believes a currently expensive set of technologies could be reduced through further investment in technology and innovation. This could be very important for the UK’s hydrogen, carbon capture and storage and floating offshore wind sectors.

If pursued, NZTC believes it could accelerate adoption of a range of low-carbon technologies. Rapid investment can also help meet the emissions targets of the North Sea Transition Agreement (NSTD) and create a net-zero energy system in the North Sea.

The NSTD contract aims to unlock £16 billion of investment and reduce emissions by up to 60 million tonnes per year. By 2030, the UK will have produced 10GW of her low-carbon hydrogen, with at least 5GW of green hydrogen, and he will need to develop four carbon capture and storage (CCS) clusters to meet NSTD demand. .

Colette Cohen, CEO of Net Zero Technology Center, said:

“We can no longer weather the storm without urgent action through commitment and investment in new, affordable low-carbon technologies. , created a call to action to help us meet our net-zero goals.”

To unlock this vital funding for the sector, NZTC has outlined three recommendations in its report to help meet NSTD’s commitments.

The first recommendation states that the industry should be supported and encouraged towards rapid testing and deployment of the technology to facilitate improvements in efficiency, modularity, and scalability.

If this is implemented, NZTC estimates that levelized costs will be reduced by at least 50% across core technologies such as offshore wind solutions, electrolysers, carbon capture technologies and materials related to creating low carbon technologies. I’m here.

The second recommendation called on governments to sponsor and advocate de-risking, standardizing and expanding testing and demonstration centers for low-carbon technologies.

This could spur investment in low-carbon technologies, spurring adoption and innovation in the sector.

The final recommendation proposed that infrastructure plans should be developed to transport, transmit, store and manage new energy commodities such as hydrogen, ammonia, renewable electricity and CO2.

Carlo Procaccini, Technical Director of the North Sea Transition Authority, said:

“There is a need to adapt and deploy traditional offshore oil and gas technologies to new challenges such as carbon capture utilization and storage, floating offshore wind and hydrogen, working across different energy sectors and anchoring UK supply chains. This is a significant opportunity for our industry and requires rapid response in terms of technology focus and investment.”

Earlier this month, NZTC and Cygnus JV and Sealand Projects identified four electrification options to reduce emissions from operating offshore oil and gas assets.

This includes local offtake via power purchase agreements, local offtake with offshore transmission owners, relocation of turbines, and dedicated offshore wind farms acting as platforms.