Acorn Details
1. Key Information
| Field | Information |
|---|---|
| Project ID | 2081 |
| Project Name | Acorn |
| Alternative Name | Acorn CCS Project, Acorn Hydrogen |
| Scale | Demonstration |
| Purpose | Upstream |
| Location | St Fergus |
| Country | UK |
| Continent | Europe |
| Latitude | 57.578984 |
| Longitude | -1.841456 |
| Regulation Status | Lease option from Crown Estate Scotland and Licence from OGA both granted 2018 |
| Primary Company / Alliance | Storegga, Harbour Energy, Shell, North Sea Midstream Partners |
2. Further Information
| Field | Information |
|---|---|
| Project Description | Acorn is comprised of Acorn CCS (includes Acorn CO2 SAPLING PCI – see separate entry) and Acorn Hydrogen. There is also an integrated Direct Air Capture (DAC) project. Acorn CCS proposes a low-cost, minimum viable, full chain, integrated industrial CCS facility based largely on re-use of existing assets, from which a more extensive network can be built. The Acorn project is the transport and storage backbone of the Scottish Cluster. Initial phase involves existing amine-based gas separation plant at St Fergus, which currently vents CO2 separated from incoming North Sea gas, which can be developed to capture other emissions from existing or new facilities at the site. The Goldeneye pipeline will be re-purposed to transport CO2 to a new injection well in the Central North Sea. The DAC project is a collaboration (since 2020) with Carbon Engineering to create a 1MtCO2/yr removal facility that will 'plug in' to the Acorn project infrastructure. Acorn Hydrogen proposes to produce hydrogen by reforming natural gas and capturing the CO2 emissions. The hydrogen will be blended with natural gas in the national transmission system at St Fergus; the CO2 will be stored as part of Acorn CCS. Acorn Hydrogen can be operational by 2025, with an initial production target of 1.6TWh/yr, eventually producing over 10TWh/yr. |
| Project Website | https://theacornproject.uk |
3. Status
| Field | Information |
|---|---|
| Status | In Design |
| Status Comment | Detailed engineering for first project phase underway, FID expected late 2021. The Scottish Cluster was selected as a ‘reserve project’ in the UK Government’s CCUS Cluster Sequencing Track 1 projects announcement (Oct 2021). Track-2 status awarded July 2023. |
| Intended Operational Year | 2024 |
| Operation Year | |
| End Operation Year | |
| Date Comment |
4. Funding
| Field | Information |
|---|---|
| Estimated Cost | |
| Public Funding | Yes |
| Public Funding Comment | Acorn CCS feasibility project funded through EU ERA-NET ACT programme, further funding from UK and Scottish Governments and the EU. Acorn Hydrogen has received early-stage funding from the UK Government. |
| Public Engagement | Much public engagement activity took place in local communities for the cancelled Peterhead CCS project. |
5. Organisation
| Field | Information |
|---|---|
| Non Commercial Org | Acorn feasibility study consortium included SCCS, Bellona, Liverpool and Radboud Universities |
| CCS Group | Acorn CCS has receievd funding/support at different stages from Chrysaor, Shell and Total and Pale Blue Dot Energy |
| Company Comment |
6. Storage
| Field | Information |
|---|---|
| Fate | Saline Formation |
| On / Offshore | Offshore |
| Storage Company | |
| Injection (MT CO2/yr) | 0.3 |
| Total Injection (MT CO2) | |
| Storage Distance | 78 km |
| Storage Country | UK |
| Storage Latitude | |
| Storage Longitude | |
| Storage Comment | Acorn CCS phase 1 expected to store ~0.3MtCO2/yr in the Acorn CO2 Storage Site (the Captain aquifer). Second site at East Mey and several further potential storage sites. |
| Storage Monitoring |
7. Production
| Field | Information |
|---|---|
| Product | Natural gas |
| Source Company | Apache and others at St Fergus |
| Construction | Rebuild |
| Permit | Project gained pore-space lease agreement with Crown Estate Scotland and storage appraisal licence from Oil & Gas Authority in Autumn 2018. |
| Permit Date | |
| Feedstock | Gas |
| Feedstock Detail | Feed gas <7.85 mol% CO2 |
| Feedstock Additional | Gas combustion emissions on St Fergus site. |
| Power Plant Size | |
| Fuel Capacity | |
| Production Capacity | |
| Plant Capacity Comment |
8. Separation
| Field | Information |
|---|---|
| Separation Type | Post-combustion |
| Separation Technology | Amine solvent |
| Separation Comment | |
| Capture Company | |
| CCS Capacity |
9. Transport
| Field | Information |
|---|---|
| Transport Method | Pipe and Ship |
| Transport Company | |
| Cluster | Yes |
| Cluster Comment | Several emitters at St Fergus, potential to network with Central Scotland cluster and UK/EU ports via CO2 shipping |
| Trans-boundary | Yes |
| Transport Comment | Goldeneye pipeline proposed for phase 1, with potential re-purposing of the Atlantic and Miller pipelines being considered for subsequent phases. |
10. Edit History
| Field | Information |
|---|---|
| Date Entered | 2017-05-15 10:50:37 |
| Entered by | CCSDBA |
| Date Modified | 2023-07-31 12:57:26.181022 |
| Modified by | rsteven2 |