Drax is setting up a new US-based business unit that will oversee the development and construction of new-build BECCS plants internationally with the intention of becoming a leader in delivering large-scale global carbon removals.

Led by Laurie Fitzmaurice as its president, the new entity will use a coalition of strategic partners in targeting the removal of at least 6Mt of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. The business will be operationally separate within the Drax Group and headquartered in Houston. Drax intends to formally launch this new entity later this year.

Drax Group CEO, Will Gardiner, said: “The creation of this business brings to life years of hard work by many outstanding people across our Group and marks another step in Drax’s journey to enable a zero-carbon, lower-cost energy future. Our recent success is grounded in providing secure, renewable energy and our future is focused on playing a critical role in tackling climate change through the generation of secure, renewable power and the large-scale removal of carbon dioxide.”

The engineered carbon removals market has continued to grow exponentially over the last 12 months with 4.5Mt purchased in 2023 – a sixfold increase from last year, according to cdr.fyi. However, the total amount sold to date represents only 0.05 per cent of the IPCC annual goal.

Delivery of Drax Power Station BECCS project to continue to be handled by a UK-based team within Drax Group.

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