CCSA Job Vacancy: Secretary General of the Zero Emissions Platform – EU Director, CCSA Brussels

Description

The CCSA is looking to appoint an EU Director to act as Secretary General for the EU Zero Emissions Platform and lead our Brussels team.

Who we are

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and the ability to capture, transport and store or utilise carbon dioxide will be crucial to ensure a sustainable, competitive and equitable transition to a climate neutral Europe.

Through its Brussels office the CCSA provides the secretariat for the Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP) and the CCS and CCU platform for Research and Innovation (“Implementation Working Group 9”) under the EU’s CCUS SET-Plan). Both programmes support the coordination and collaboration of a wide range of stakeholders, including EU institutions, national governments, industry, researchers and civil society to provide technical advice to the EU on the deployment of CCS and CCU.

The Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) is the trade association accelerating the commercial deployment Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (or CCUS) through advocacy and collaboration.  Our ambition is to see CCUS developed and deployed at the pace and scale necessary to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and deliver sustainable growth across regions and nations. We represent a wide variety of organisations with an interest in the development and deployment of CCUS across many applications to decarbonise heavy industries, power and hydrogen production, and remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. The CCSA team works across two offices, with staff based in London and Brussels.

The role

The CCSA’s EU Director will be the ZEP Secretary General, working with the ZEP Advisory Council to further establish the ZEP as trusted advisers on CCS and CCU in Europe and will lead the CCSA’s Brussels-based team as the most senior role in the Brussels office, working closely with the CCSA’s Senior Leadership Team and CCSA Board on the CCSA’s European advocacy work.

Responsibilities

As Secretary General of the Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP):

• Ensure effective and timely delivery of the work programme, including engaging with the forthcoming EC Communication on CCUS and associated legislative programme; and managing delivery of relevant studies on behalf of ZEP.
• Engage with ZEP members on activities linked to the development and deployment of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU).
• Represent ZEP towards relevant bodies, including the European Commission/Parliament/Council, national governments, industry, researchers and civil society.
• Build and maintain a strong and broad network of organisations and individuals that are active in CCUS.
• Manage the overall administration and finances of the platform, including reporting and auditing requirements under the grant.
• Coordinate the platform of eleven countries collaborating on CCS and CCU Research and Innovation.

The CCSA’s EU Director will:

• Lead the work of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) in Brussels – delivery of the secretariat for ZEP and IWG-9 and the association’s advocacy on European policy.
• Develop our small Brussels team of five into a high performing team and optimise the collaboration of CCSA and ZEP to benefit of their members and stakeholders.
• As the only member of the CCSA’s Leadership Team based in the Brussels office:
  • Develop and manage the CCSA Brussels team, outsourced providers, work programmes and budgets, EU Grant and linked funding.
  • Develop and deliver a policy advocacy programme to support CCSA members with an interest in European CCUS developments.
  • Represent the CCSA to EU institutions and stakeholders and collaborate with a broad network of organisations and individuals that are active in CCUS across Europe.

The EU Director will report to the CEO of the CCSA and will be based in our Brussels office.

As the Secretary General of ZEP, the role will report to the ZEP Advisory Council and the ZEP-Communications Board of Directors.

Required skills and experience

• Understanding of CCS/CCU technologies and their importance in tackling climate change;
• Excellent understanding of EU policy making processes;
• Strong interpersonal skills and diplomatic style – able to curate and manage effective discussions between organisations with diverse viewpoints;
• Outstanding relationship management skills – can quickly establish trust and build relationships across a range of different stakeholders;
• Proven delivery track record – has delivered at pace in a changing environment with a small team, leveraging a wider network of resources;
• Experience of managing a collaborative European policy initiative;
• Exceptional organisational skills – ability to balance both immediate term priorities and longer-term goals;
• Strong analytical skills – ability to receive technical information and translate it into a strategic policy context
• People management – create a working environment where people can achieve their best;
• Financial planning and management skills – experience of managing multiple externally audited budgets with different reporting requirements.
• Native English speaker or equivalent level. Other European languages are a valuable asset.
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills.

Closing Date: 9 June 2023

The Carbon Capture & Storage Association has engaged Odgers Berndtson Brussels to support in this recruitment process – to apply, please send a CV AND motivation letter to brussels@odgersberndtson.com by 5pm 9 June 2023, with “CCSA EU Director” in the subject field. Please note that only qualified candidates will be contacted for an initial interview, which will be held in Brussels.

We want to create a diverse and inclusive team, so we particularly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within our sector.  Please let us know if you require any adjustments to make our recruitment process more accessible.

18 May 2023, London

In response to today announcement by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) to offer 20 carbon storage licences for award, Ruth Herbert, Chief Executive at the CCSA commented:

“Availability of permanent CO₂ storage is a key requirement for achieving the UK’s net zero strategy. The CCSA’s Delivery Plan recommended that the government and industry rapidly bring additional storage capacity to a commercial stage of readiness.

“This first carbon storage licensing round from the NSTA is a vital step towards unlocking the UK’s full CO₂ storage potential. Given the climate emergency, we hope this will be the first of many such rounds and that further sites around the UK will have the opportunity to apply in the near future.”

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact Judith Shapiro/ judith.shapiro@ccsassociation.org/ Tel: 020 4583 2295

18 April 2023, London

In response to yesterday’s vote in the House of Lords on the Energy Bill, Ruth Herbert, Chief Executive at the CCSA commented:

“We are delighted to see that the House of Lords voted in favour of updating Ofgem’s duties to include a specific requirement to have regard to meeting the UK’s net zero target. The CCUS industry has been pushing for this amendment alongside other low-carbon energy trade associations – working together to ensure the regulator is empowered to put net zero at the heart of their decisions.

This amendment will be particularly critical for CCUS, to enable the roll-out and expansion of significant CO₂ infrastructure this decade – to ensure we can meet the Government’s ambition of capturing and storing 20-30 million tonnes of CO₂ per year by 2030 which will be essential if we are to remain on the path to Net Zero.”

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact Judith Shapiro/ judith.shapiro@ccsassociation.org or Joe Butler-Trewin/ joe.butler-trewin@ccsassociation.org

The Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) and Endrava AS are combining forces to accelerate the deployment of decarbonisation solutions, particularly within the field of Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS).

Endrava will provide access to CaptureMap, a powerful map-based platform that identifies large CO₂ emitters, to the CCSA for its internal use. Additionally, current and new CCSA members will receive subscription discounts to CaptureMap, along with complimentary data analysis sessions.

CaptureMap was created five years ago as part of a project for Offshore Norge. Realising the utility of the tool and for the purpose of accelerating the pace of CCUS project development, Offshore Norge generously allowed Endrava to commercialise CaptureMap. The first user on board was the Northern Lights project (a JV between Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies), who effectively leveraged CaptureMap to build a list of potential point source CO₂ emitters in Europe for their transport and storage value chain.

Eric Rambech, co-founder of Endrava, expressed his excitement about the collaboration, saying, “Major energy producers and equipment manufacturers are already using CaptureMap. The collaboration with the CCSA is an important milestone in making CaptureMap known and available to even more actors in the value chain, creating a common platform of understanding for finding the best point source emitters for CCUS. We’ve been impressed with the skill, drive and success of the CCSA over time now, and are therefore thrilled to launch this collaboration together with them.”

Ruth Herbert, CEO of the CCSA commented on the exciting new collaboration, saying “CaptureMap is a fantastic tool that we believe could help support many of our members to identify and realise their customer base for future CO₂ infrastructure, thus enabling increased investment in further storage sites. Given the long lead-in times, early investment in CO₂ transport and storage assets will be vital to meeting demand for CCUS, which we expect to accelerate from the late 2020s onwards.”

To find out more about CaptureMap or to set up a free trial please visit the website at https://www.capturemap.no/.

For any further enquiries, or to access the member benefits, please contact Eric Rambech by email at eric@endrava.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Endrava:

Endrava is a Norwegian climate-tech company founded in 2016. We’re engineers by training, passionate about the use of public data to mitigate climate change. Our product is called CaptureMap: a map-based platform that shows large industrial CO₂ emitters globally. CaptureMap helps organisations find and focus on the best decarbonisation projects.

About the CCSA:

The CCSA is the lead European association accelerating the commercial deployment of CCUS. We work with members, governments and other organisations to ensure CCUS is developed and deployed at the pace and scale necessary to meet net zero goals and deliver sustainable growth across regions and nations.

The CCSA currently has over 100 member companies who are active in exploring and developing different applications of carbon capture, CO₂ transportation by pipeline and ship, utilisation, geological storage, and other permanent storage solutions, as well as members from management, legal and financial consulting sectors.

To find out more about the Carbon Capture Storage Association (CCSA) please visit the CCSA website at http://www.ccsassociation.org.

30 March 2023, London

The Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA), the trade body for the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) industry in Europe, welcomes the further information provided today by the UK Government regarding the first round of CCUS deployment.

The Government has today confirmed the final selection of the first carbon capture projects to be built under the CCUS Cluster Sequencing Process. These are sites that will connect to the carbon dioxide transport and storage infrastructure that will be developed through the initial “Track 1” clusters (HyNet North West and East Coast Cluster).

Successful projects will receive revenue support to cover the cost of operating with carbon capture, as well as in some cases, capital support from the Low Carbon Hydrogen Fund to cover some of the cost of installing capture equipment and connecting to the CO₂ transport and storage network.

The projects selected today by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero are:

East Coast Cluster

• Net Zero Teesside Power
• bpH2 Teesside
• Teesside Hydrogen CO₂ Capture

HyNet Cluster

• Hanson Padeswood Cement Works Carbon Capture and Storage Project
• Viridor Runcorn Industrial CCS
• Protos Energy Recovery Facility
• Buxton Lime Net Zero
• HyNet Hydrogen Production Plant 1 (HPP1)

These projects represent a wide variety of sectors such as dispatchable low carbon power generation, industrial process emissions (cement, lime and energy from waste) and low-carbon hydrogen production.

These projects will create thousands of jobs in the North West and Teesside.

Today the Government has also set out the forward timeline for selecting the next “Track-2” CCUS clusters to be operational by 2030, as well as further clarity regarding the Track 1 expansion process. This is essential in providing future opportunities to connect to the network for projects and clusters that have not been selected – or previously eligible to participate, giving them a route to decarbonisation.

Ruth Herbert, Chief Executive at the CCSA, said:

“We are pleased to see Government pushing ahead with the first carbon capture projects. Collectively, these projects will capture millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and protect and create many thousands of jobs in critical sectors, delivering significant economic growth in two of the UK’s industrial regions.

However, today’s announcement will be particularly disappointing for the Humber region which emits more CO₂ than any region in the UK – projects based there urgently need clarity, alongside other unsuccessful projects. Government must therefore set out the process for further projects to be added to the first two clusters. This will give an important route to market for the remaining shortlisted – and new – projects in vital industrial sectors, where CCUS is the only option for achieving net zero, as well as clarity for those developing greenhouse gas removal technologies such as direct air capture and bioenergy with CCS. Companies have spent significant sums of money to develop proposals and they will need reassurance that this investment is not lost.

We welcome the launch of the process for the next two CCUS clusters, but now need to see a clear forward timeline. In addition, as per Chris Skidmore’s recommendation, we need to see a deployment plan for the whole of the UK, as all industrial regions need to decarbonise or risk seeing continued offshoring of our supply chain. Our member companies all around the country are investing in decarbonisation projects to meet the Government’s ambition of capturing 20-30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030, but this investment could go overseas to the US or Europe in the absence of a clear UK plan.”

David Parkin, HyNet Project Director at Progressive Energy said:

“We are absolutely delighted that five HyNet partners have been successful in receiving the go-ahead from Government today, enabling the project to move into construction in 2024. Together within the HyNet cluster, these projects will remove just under 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year – supporting the UK’s net zero target.

HyNet is at the forefront of the UK’s new British carbon capture sector – leading the way in the development of the infrastructure, skills and the supply chain.

The North-West supports the most manufacturing jobs of any UK region. HyNet will enable the region to retain high value roles, secure 6,000 new jobs, attract inward investment and cultivate a supply chain across the region.  It will also give industry the ability to produce the environmentally friendly products that consumers are increasingly demanding.

This is good news for the UK’s fight against climate change, good news for the North West and North Wales region, and good news for British industry and the economy.”

Andy Lane, Managing Director of the Northern Endurance Partnership, said:

“Congratulations to the projects that have been selected today, and thank you to the team at DESNZ for maintaining the momentum in this process. It is important to stress that the projects selected today are just the start of our ambition to expand carbon capture and storage to serve projects across the entire Teesside and Humber regions. The Northern Endurance Partnership is investing to develop a wide portfolio of CO₂ storage sites which will more than double the CO₂ storage capacity of the cluster to around 10 million tonnes per year by 2030 – ready to serve the East Coast Cluster expansion projects”.

Nick Cooper, CEO at Storegga said:

“We welcome Government’s recognition of Acorn as one of two projects already seen as best able to meet the Track 2 eligibility criteria and ready to deliver on the Government’s objectives for Track 2. We support the Government’s drive to move this forward as quickly as possible now, in order to reach the target of 20-30Mt CO₂ captured and stored pa by 2030. Acorn, as the Reserve Cluster, remains ready to step up as soon as the Government asks us to do so.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

CCUS, or Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage, is a key low carbon solution – vital to meeting the UK’s statutory Net Zero target at least cost. CCUS enables the production of clean power, clean products (such as steel and cement) and clean hydrogen – which can then be used to decarbonise heating and transport. In addition, CCUS also enables greenhouse gas removal from the atmosphere through Direct Air Capture with Storage (DACS) or Bioenergy with CCS (BECCS).

The CCSA is the lead European association accelerating the commercial deployment of CCUS. We work with members, governments and other organisations to ensure CCUS is developed and deployed at the pace and scale necessary to meet net zero goals and deliver sustainable growth across regions and nations.

The CCSA currently has over 100 member companies who are active in exploring and developing different applications of carbon capture, CO₂ transportation by pipeline and ship, utilisation, geological storage, and other permanent storage solutions, as well as members from management, legal and financial consulting sectors.

Further information regarding the projects selected today can be found here.

For media enquiries please contact Judith Shapiro on 07719763133 or email judith.shapiro@ccsassociation.org

To find out more about the Carbon Capture Storage Association (CCSA) please visit the CCSA website at http://www.ccsassociation.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 15^th March 2023, London

The Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA), the trade body for the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) industry in Europe, welcomes today’s Spring Budget 2023 confirmation of £20 billion funding for the UK’s CCUS programme.

The Budget confirms that this funding will kick-start early investment in CCUS “unlocking private investment and job creation across the UK, particularly on the East Coast and in the Northwest of England and North Wales, delivering up to 50,000 highly skilled jobs.”

Ruth Herbert, Chief Executive at the CCSA, said:

“We are delighted to see that the Chancellor has today confirmed £20 billion of funding for CCUS. This marks a turning point for this vital sector, delivering the much-needed certainty to investors that the UK is serious about delivering CCUS.

Today’s announcement means that two years since the launch of the programme, we can now move forward with implementing the initial CCUS clusters. Alongside this, the industry is developing a healthy pipeline of projects to deliver on the government’s net zero strategy in industrial regions all around the UK – these other regions are eagerly awaiting their turn to move forward with carbon capture and storage and will need to see the government commit to further deployment.

We look forward to seeing which projects have been chosen to move to construction, the forward timeline for selecting the next CCUS clusters that need to be operational this decade, and a swift passage of the Energy Bill through Parliament, to finalise the regulatory framework for the industry.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

CCUS, or Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage, is a key low carbon solution – vital to meeting the UK’s statutory Net Zero target at least cost. CCUS enables the production of clean power, clean products (such as steel and cement) and clean hydrogen – which can then be used to decarbonise heating and transport. In addition, CCUS also enables greenhouse gas removal from the atmosphere through Direct Air Capture with Storage (DACS) or Bioenergy with CCS (BECCS).

The CCSA is the lead European association accelerating the commercial deployment of CCUS. We work with members, governments and other organisations to ensure CCUS is developed and deployed at the pace and scale necessary to meet net zero goals and deliver sustainable growth across regions and nations.

The CCSA currently has over 100 member companies who are active in exploring and developing different applications of carbon capture, CO₂ transportation by pipeline and ship, utilisation, geological storage, and other permanent storage solutions, as well as members from management, legal and financial consulting sectors.

Further background and guidance on the UK Government’s Cluster Sequencing Programme can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1043088/ccus-cluster-sequencing-phase-2-guidance.pdf

For media enquiries please contact Judith Shapiro on 07719 763133/ judith.shapiro@ccsassociation.org.

To find out more about the Carbon Capture Storage Association (CCSA) please visit the CCSA website at http://www.ccsassociation.org/.

In response to the Chancellor’s Announcement (copied below) on the Clean Energy Reset, Ruth Herbert, the Carbon Capture and Storage Association’s CEO states;

“The industry welcomes the Chancellor’s announcement of major investment in UK carbon capture and storage. This will maintain the international competitiveness of our industries and give the UK a clear early mover advantage in a technology that will need to be deployed around the world if we are to limit global warming in line with the Paris agreement.

We have been spending significant sums of money at risk to develop projects that are ready to deploy to meet the Government’s Net Zero Strategy ambitions. This announcement means the UK’s industrial clusters can now move forward with essential decarbonisation plans, securing the future of our heavy industries and those employed in them and attracting billions of pounds of investment into levelling up these regions. 

This will create new jobs and growth, and position the UK to export low carbon products and CCS skills and services. The UK has a strong supply chain capability across all of the technologies needed to deploy CO₂ capture, transport and storage, thanks to our successful offshore industries as well as our chemical and engineering know-how.”

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact Olivia Powis on 07979 380294 or email olivia.powis@ccsassociation.org

To find out more about the Carbon Capture Storage Association (CCSA) please visit the CCSA website at http://www.ccsassociation.org/.

EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 9^th March 2023

The Climate Change Committee has today published a new report “Delivering a reliable decarbonised power system”.

Ruth Herbert, Chief Executive at the CCSA, said:

“Today’s report from the Climate Change Committee is clear – Carbon Capture, and Storage (CCS) will be critical to delivering a decarbonised GB electricity system by 2035, alongside 70% renewable generation.

CCS will provide flexible low-carbon generation, either through gas-fired power stations fitted with CCS or CCS-enabled hydrogen used in power generation. Furthermore, the CCC modelling clearly shows that the majority of hydrogen production between now and 2035 will be CCS-enabled. 

To achieve this we need to move much much faster – the Government’s CCUS cluster programme needs to confirm now that it will significantly ramp up the number of CCS-enabled flexible power and hydrogen projects to be commissioned this decade. We also need a clear strategy for developing and expanding at pace the critical CCS and hydrogen infrastructure that will be vital for not just the power sector, but also industrial decarbonisation.

We are delighted to see the recommendation from the CCC that Government should commit to a long-term cross-sectoral infrastructure strategy, and we look forward to working with our members to drive this forward”.

For media enquiries please contact Judith Shapiro at judith.shapiro@ccsassociation.org/ M: +44 (0)7719763133