Storegga signs customer MoU for Direct Air Capture with Virgin Atlantic

19 August 2021, London: Storegga, the independent UK company focussed on carbon removal for a net zero world, is pleased to announce that Virgin Atlantic has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) to become a customer for the Company’s proposed large scale UK Direct Air Capture (“DAC”) facility. Virgin Atlantic has committed to purchase the permanent and verifiable removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through this facility.

The signing of the MoU demonstrates the accelerating commercial interest from the aviation and other sectors in DAC technology combined with geological storage (“DACCS”). Storegga’s DAC facility offers Virgin Atlantic, and other businesses that are challenging to decarbonise directly, an effective way to address their carbon footprint and progress towards net zero targets.

DAC provides a high quality, cost-effective way to permanently eliminate CO₂ emissions from the atmosphere. It also provides a reliable way to remove CO₂ emissions from the past, making it a tool to support not only net zero targets, but also ambitions to achieve net negative emissions and full climate restoration.

Storegga, with its technical partner Carbon Engineering, are designing a 1 MTPA DAC in North East Scotland. For businesses that cannot capture or reduce all of their carbon emissions at source, Storegga will be supplying an equivalent DAC physical removal of CO₂emissions by capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.

Nick Cooper, CEO Storegga said:

“We are really pleased to welcome Virgin Atlantic as an early DAC customer. It is excellent that Virgin have chosen to embrace DAC as an offsetting solution and to support our facility in North-East Scotland; Europe’s first at scale deployment of DAC.

The need for high quality, permanent, engineered offsetting is clear. To reach our net zero goals and prevent significant temperature rises, we need utilise all the tools available to us. Technical offsetting with DAC is urgently needed at scale to sit alongside nature-based offsetting. Last week’s IPCC report is an alarm call to all of us. The quicker we wake up to this, the better our chances of reaching net zero.”  

Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic said:

“Innovation and sustainability leadership is firmly in our DNA and we’re excited to be the first in the aviation industry to partner with Storegga to progress the development of Direct Air Capture solutions in the UK. Reducing Virgin Atlantic’s carbon footprint is our number one climate action priority and the removal of CO2 directly from the atmosphere has the potential to become a powerful tool in reaching our target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“We hope that early adoption of this technology and development of a facility here in the UK will demonstrate the commercial potential of DAC and inspire other businesses to be involved. Virgin Atlantic’s commitment to the facility complements the range of innovative partnerships we have developed to further our sustainability goals including working with technology providers for Sustainable Aviation Fuels and zero-carbon flight.”

Storegga and its partner, Carbon Engineering, a leading DAC provider and developer of the technology, have commenced preliminary engineering and design of the proposed UK facility. The facility aims to permanently remove one million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually. Targeted for North-East Scotland, the proposed facility will be the first large-scale facility of its kind in Europe and is targeting first operations for 2026.

The development of the proposed DAC facility in North East Scotland will help the UK decarbonise and achieve critical net zero targets by delivering a flexible new tool to add to the global climate toolkit. When combined with geological storage, DAC technology delivers the permanent and verifiable removal of CO₂ from the air, reversing the emissions process. The highly scalable technology can be used to meet the ever-increasing demand for CO₂ removal that is independent of the constraints of nature-based solutions. Whilst nature-based solutions have a material effect on reducing global emissions, DAC technology provides a complementary solution to the climate toolkit that can deliver climate-stabilising quantities of permanent carbon removal and help address the world's most difficult sources of emissions.

ENDS

For further information please contact

Camarco (PR and Media) Monique Perks, Tom Huddart, Billy Clegg, Emily Madano (Public Affairs) Andrew Turner, Neil Stockley, James Watson

020 3757 4983   07702 962043

Notes to Editors:

Storegga

Storegga is an independent, UK-based carbon management business at the forefront of the global Net Zero strategy. It aims to champion and deliver carbon capture and storage (“CCS”), hydrogen, and other subsurface renewable projects in the UK and internationally to accelerate carbon emission reductions.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Pale Blue Dot Energy, Storegga is the lead developer of the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage (“CCS”) and Hydrogen project, providing essential infrastructure to help the UK meet its net zero targets.

The Acorn Project will provide critical backbone infrastructure for the Scottish Cluster. The Scottish Cluster unites communities, industries and businesses to deliver CCS, hydrogen and other low carbon technologies, supporting Scotland, the UK and Europe to meet net zero goals.

Storegga has partnered with leading engineering and technology groups at the forefront of their fields to accelerate infrastructure development. The Company has partnered with Carbon Engineering to develop Direct Air Capture (“DAC”) in the UK.

Storegga:(https://www.storegga.earth/)

For more information on Storegga, Pale Blue Dot or Acorn contact storegga_media@camarco.co.uk or 020 3757 4980

For more information on the Acorn CCS and Hydrogen Project, please visit: About Acorn – Acorn CCS - https://theacornproject.uk/about/

About Virgin Atlantic  

Virgin Atlantic was founded by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson in 1984, with innovation and amazing customer service at its core. In 2020, Virgin Atlantic was voted Britain’s only Global Five Star Airline by APEX for the fourth year running in the Official Airline Ratings. Headquartered in London, it employs 5,900 people worldwide, flying customers to 27 destinations across four continents. Alongside shareholder and Joint Venture partner Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic operates a leading transatlantic network, with onward connections to over 200 cities around the world. On 3 February 2020, Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic launched an expanded Joint Venture, offering a comprehensive route network, convenient flight schedules, competitive fares and reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, including the ability to earn and redeem miles across all carriers.       

Sustainability remains central to the airline and since September 2019, Virgin Atlantic has welcomed seven brand new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, helping to transform the fleet into one of the youngest, quietest and most fuel efficient in the sky. By 2022, the airline will operate a streamlined fleet of 37 twin engine aircraft following the retirement of its B747-400s and A340-600s, making its simplified fleet 10% more efficient than before the Covid-19 crisis impacted.    

For more information visit www.virginatlantic.com, www.virginholidays.co.uk or via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @virginatlantic @virginholidays    

For the latest information on the measures we are taking to ensure our customers fly safe and well with Virgin Atlantic, please visit: https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/youre-in-safe-hands.html. 

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