Drax has signed a 20-year joint venture agreement with Power Minerals Ltd (PML) to develop a factory for processing legacy ash into supplementary cementitious material (SCM), or fly ash, an ingredient in low-carbon green cement.
The factory will be built next to the Drax power station in Selby, Yorkshire on land leased from Drax. Under the agreement, PML will build, own and operate the new facility, while Drax will sell its legacy pulverised fuel ash (PFA) to the joint venture and provide power to the factory.
The factory is due to enter service by the end of 2026, with an initial production capacity of 400,000 tonnes per year. According to the announcement, the facility will ultimately process millions of tonnes of PFA.
The move marks the latest shift for Drax, following the power station’s gradual conversion to biomass since the mid-2010s. Drax says it is the single largest generator of renewable electricity in the UK. However, the power station has also been found to be the largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the UK by think-tank Ember Energy, based on an analysis of official data from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme registry and company annual reports. Drax Group has also been fined by UK regulators for misreporting data on the forestry type and sawlog content it uses for its biomass.
Nonetheless, Drax is continuing its push to bolster its green credentials. The company is also proposing to add carbon capture and storage (CCS) to the power station site. However, this bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) initiative still requires government funding, as well as a confirmed route to carbon storage, in order to go ahead.
The announcement on the fly ash partnership represents a further step in Drax’s green push. The company noted in the announcement that cement production accounts for around 8% of global CO2 emissions. It added that PML had estimated that use of PFA from Drax could reduce CO2 emissions by a minimum of 6m tonnes over the duration of their partnership, compared to using conventional cements.
“This is a landmark deal not only for Drax, but for the UK construction industry,” stated Drax’s chief operations officer, Lee Dawes. “Cement production is one of the most carbon-intensive processes in the world and through this partnership, we will be able to help the construction industry cut its carbon emissions in the years ahead,” he added.
“The opportunity to sell large volumes of PFA from Drax power station as part of a long-term JV is another way in which we can realise incremental value from the site whilst helping to reduce carbon emissions,” Dawes continued. “It is an exciting time for Drax as we continue to develop options for long-term investment in the site, including BECCS and a data centre.”
Meanwhile, Nils Jansen, the head of cementitious materials at PML’s parent company, EP Power Minerals, said the agreement positioned his company to become “the leading player in the UK fly ash market for the foreseeable future”.
Drax will share the profits of the joint venture’s sales of SCM. The company estimates that the project could generate incremental adjusted EBITDA of around £5m per year post-2027 until 2046.
Ash from the Drax power station has historically been deposited nearby, at Barlow Mound. Drax said the mound would be retained at its current height along the west and southwest of the site to continue to protect the views of local residents, while the remainder of the mound would be extracted down to surrounding ground levels and then restored.
