The Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) have signed a Letter of Intent for the roll out of a DC/FO submarine cable infrastructure delivering power and communication toward subsea control systems of NEP CO2 transport and storage project.
The standalone DC/FO, lean cable infrastructure, highly reliable and delivering high-power over long distances, will connect the Teesside onshore NEP infrastructure, to the subsea injection site located approximately 145km from the shore. The system is ready for future extension, from the same cable, to connect additional manifolds as the volume of CO2 to be stored will increase.
DC/FO solution to be deployed on NEP, is based on standard products which allow to reduce project risks, costs and lead time. Following the successful commissioning and start-up of other DC/FO systems in 2023, this project represents another significant step forward for adoption of DC/FO technology as key building block for offshore carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) and subsea production systems.
NEP, a joint venture between bp, Equinor, and TotalEnergies, is the CO2 transportation and storage provider for the East Coast Cluster (ECC). The Teesside onshore NEP infrastructure would serve the Teesside-based carbon capture projects – NZT Power, H2Teesside and Teesside Hydrogen CO2 Capture – that were selected for first connection to the ECC by DESNZ in March 2023 as part of the UK’s cluster sequencing process for carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS). It is anticipated that around 4 million tons of CO2 per year from these projects would be transported and stored from 2027.
Final contract award will be subject to receipt of regulatory clearances and final investment decisions (FID) being taken in September 2024 or earlier.
Alain Biston, President of Alcatel Submarine Networks said: ‘We are delighted to work in close cooperation with bp, Equinor and TotalEnergies on the development of a DC/FO system providing subsea control power and communications for NEP CO2 storage infrastructure. This project is the opportunity for ASN, leveraging on subsea telecom and power conversion technologies manufactured in the U.K., to contribute to the fight against global warming’.
