Drax aims to be the first company in the world to become carbon negative. Using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) Drax hopes to achieve the goal by 2030, creating a negative carbon footprint for the company.

CEO Will Gardiner announced the ambition at the Powering Past Coal Alliance event at COP 25 in Madrid, having already piloted the technology at the BECCS test station which is capturing a tonne of carbon dioxide every day.

Gardiner said: “Drax’s ambition is to be carbon negative by 2030. Having pioneered the use of sustainable biomass, Drax now produces 12 per cent of the UK’s renewable electricity. The UK Government is working on a policy and investment framework to encourage negative emissions technologies, which will enable the UK to be home to the world’s first carbon negative company. This is not just critical to beating the climate crisis, but also to enabling a just transition, protecting jobs and creating new opportunities for clean growth – delivering for the economy as well as for the environment.”

As a company Drax has decarbonised fast, converting two-thirds of its coal-fired power station to use sustainable biomass. After closing its remaining two coal generating units by 2025 and using carbon capture technology on its biomass power generating units, its operations should become carbon negative by 2030.

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