The primary aims are to:

• Decarbonise and to unlock new greener growth opportunities for the automotive, ceramics, food, materials, energy and waste disposal sectors.
• Target existing and planned carbon emission sources close to Bacton and in the London/Thames estuary area, from which captured carbon can transported to be permanently stored within the Hewett depleted gas field.
• Use interconnecting pipelines between Bacton and Zeebrugge to store both domestic and international carbon dioxide and transport locally-produced Hydrogen.
• Identify regional synergies and opportunities for decarbonisation anchored around the Hewett depleted gas field for use as a site for permanent CO₂ storage.
• Support the UK’s energy transition strategy, which is targeting capturing 20-30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year across the UK by 2030.

BTNZ has been convened by Eni, a leader in carbon transportation and storage development for CCS in the UK, which is now working together with stakeholders that share a common goal of decarbonising industry.

Eni brings to the project:

• Extensive experience and subsurface knowledge of the Hewett depleted gas field, having operated in the region for many years.
• A successful track record of carbon transportation and storage development, most recently in the Liverpool Bay area where it is guiding the HyNet project, which in October 2021 became one of two projects to secure Track 1 status from the UK government.
• Its experience with bringing integrated capabilities (upstream, midstream and renewables) to a single initiative.

BTNZ is supported by leading industrial entities:

• Power companies in the Thames estuary area.
• Energy-from-Waste companies in the Thames Estuary and London areas, seeking to decarbonise and future-proof their activities.
• Hydrogen developers seeking to produce and distribute zero-carbon and low-carbon fuels for industrial fuel switching, domestic heating and transportation.

The extensive depleted offshore oil and gas fields in the Bacton region offers an ideal location to carry out targeted regional decarbonisation before 2030, the benefits of which will be felt across the UK.

Most importantly, Bacton Thames Net Zero will:

• Significantly decarbonise local industrial processes, including the UK’s energy generation, waste disposal, and the production of low-carbon and electrolytic hydrogen to be distributed across the Southeast of England.
• Bring significant economic benefits by creating jobs in infrastructure, development, retaining talent by providing decarbonisation solutions to existing industry, and drawing inward investment to the region by attracting operators that can utilise the proposed infrastructure.
• Make the UK a strong contender in the competition to store sourced carbon emissions from Continental Europe.

• Location: 20 miles offshore from Bacton, on the north coast of Norfolk
• Total carbon storage capacity: 330 million tonnes (equivalent to the annual CO₂ emissions of the entire UK, across its 30-year operational lifespan)
• Annual carbon storage capacity: Potential of between 10-20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually beginning in stages from 2027
• Interconnectivity: Connected to existing UK gas infrastructure via Bacton National Grid transmission system, and to continental Europe via Interconnector pipelines
• Hydrogen: Optimal location for hydrogen production at scale, and hydrogen storage opportunities adjacent to Hewett depleted gas field