The Tate & Lyle Sugars plant at Silvertown, London, is the largest cane sugar refinery in Europe with an annual capacity of up to 1.2 million tonnes and sugar has been refined at the site since 1878\. Tate & Lyle Sugars is seeking to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050 and this project has the potential to make a major contribution to achieving that goal. Working with engineering consultants Fichtner and specialist decarbonisation company PMW Technology, Tate & Lyle Sugars is studying the feasibility of using an innovative, low temperature, physical separation carbon capture process known as 'A3C' to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by up to 90%. The study will also assess use or disposal of the carbon dioxide captured on site. For example transfer by ship to one of the proposed industrial carbon capture clusters which will inject the gas into former gas fields beneath the North Sea. PMW Technology will bring its expertise in industrial carbon capture technology to assess the feasibility of the use of the advanced A3C cryogenic carbon capture process to the Silvertown refinery. This novel process cleans and then chills the flue gases to separate the carbon dioxide as a frost. The carbon dioxide is recovered and liquefied for storage, use or export. The separation process is intense, reducing its size and energy consumption, making it a good candidate for application at sites that do not have extensive nearby land (such as Silvertown). The high purity of the separated carbon dioxide means that it is suitable for food use without further cleaning. Avoiding the use of the conventional chemical separation, the process introduces no new hazards to personnel or the environment. Fichtner is renowned for technical excellence and project delivery in the energy and waste sectors. The company has a large engineering team based in the UK providing engineering consultancy during the development, delivery and operational phases of thermal, renewable and emerging energy technologies and infrastructure. Fichtner will work with Tate & Lyle Sugars and PMW Technology to assess the technical and commercial feasibility, risks and uncertainties of the application of the A3C carbon capture process to the Silvertown refinery and for potential adoption at other similar industrial sites - especially those at a small to medium scale and not located in one of the established industrial clusters.

Carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas and methods of capturing these emissions from power stations and industry are being developed. Studies have shown that without capturing our carbon emissions it will be very much more expensive to meet our decarbonisation commitments. However the changing mix of power plant and growing role of renewable technologies is making conventional carbon capture processes appear less attractive while industrial application is restricted by process complexity and high costs. The future generation mix will comprise renewable and nuclear generation supported by fossil fuelled power stations working when power from nuclear and intermittent sources cannot meet demand. PMW Technology has brought together concepts from other sectors to create a disruptive carbon capture technology that is about half the cost of the alternatives when applied to this future generation mix. Working with academics from Chester and Sheffield Universities and industrial partners, PMW Technology will validate the process and map its characteristics to target future development on the most effective design to remove carbon cheaply.