12 December 2025 – The Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) can now advance its vision to decarbonise the Humber region, delivering major economic benefits and skilled employment opportunities, following Ofgem’s approval of its Tranche 2 Business Case.
The approval will unlock a £98.8 million investment enabling NEP to develop its Humber Carbon Capture Pipeline (HCCP), the critical carbon transportation and storage infrastructure needed for decarbonisation.
The money will equip NEP to carry out important preparation and planning work now, listening to local people’s feedback and adapting plans where possible, so that the project is less likely to face delays, cost overruns or technical problems later.
By doing this upfront work, NEP can reduce uncertainty and “de-risk” the project as part of our progress towards a Final Investment Decision (FID).
This work includes statutory consultation and submission of a Development Consent Order (DCO), an innovative Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) trial beneath the Humber estuary and collecting essential survey data. It also includes preparations for Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) under Tranche 3, approval for which will be sought under a separate business case.
Rich Denny, Managing Director of NEP, commented: “We are moving ahead with essential development activities, including the DCO submission and our pioneering HDD trial, setting us firmly on the path to FID. The Humber is the UK’s largest source of industrial emissions, so decarbonising it is critical – not only to achieving national net zero goals but also to unlocking major economic benefits and skilled employment opportunities across the region.”
The submission to Ofgem was made under NEP’s CCUS Economic Licence and ensures the project continues to be transparent and align with the UK’s wider decarbonisation objectives. Tranche 2 activities will also inform the scope, cost and schedule for Tranche 3, which will focus on FEED and EPC contracting ahead of the NEP Expansion FID.
The investment was supported by DESNZ as part of the variation process under the economic licence, reflecting the continued government support for CCUS set out in this year’s spending review and signalling confidence to those considering a future connection in the region.
The HCCP would transport CO2 from carbon capture projects in the Humber region to secure offshore storage under the North Sea. The pipeline would be built between the Drax area in North Yorkshire and the coast north of Easington in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Parts of the pipeline would also run through North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.
The pipeline itself would be underground but would also require a number of Above Ground Installations along with a Pump Facility The carbon capture projects will be selected by DESNZ through the East Coast Cluster expansion process.
ENDS
Northern Endurance Partnership
The Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) is developing onshore and offshore infrastructure needed to transport CO2 from carbon capture projects across Teesside and the Humber – collectively known as the East Coast Cluster – to secure storage under the North Sea. The infrastructure is crucial to achieving net zero in the UK’s most carbon intensive industrial regions.
NEP, via the Endurance saline aquifer and adjacent stores, has access to up to 1 billion tonnes of CO₂ storage capacity.
NEP is in an incorporated joint venture established solely to develop and operate CO₂ transportation and storage infrastructure on behalf of the NEP Shareholders – bp, Equinor and TotalEnergies.
For more information
NEP Press Office: media@northernendurancepartnership.co.uk
