Drax, Respira Partner On CDR Purchasing

Drax has agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the carbon finance company, Respira, which could see the largest volume of carbon dioxide removals (CDRs) traded so far globally.

Respira will reportedly be able to purchase up to 2 million tonnes of CDRs from Drax over a five-year period, under the terms of the MoU. The creation of the CDRs would be linked to the future deployment of BECCS by Drax in North America.

Drax already aims to invest more than £2bn in its UK BECCS project and its global supply chain by 2030, to remove 8 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year. In addition to this it is developing investment plans for BECCS projects outside the UK, including in North America, which could remove a further 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, comments, “This agreement with Respira will play a pivotal role in the development of voluntary carbon markets globally and the deployment of BECCS. The clear demand that we are seeing for engineered carbon removals, alongside the policies being developed by progressive governments in the U.S. and UK to support BECCS, will enable the investment needed to kickstart a vital new sector of the economy, creating tens of thousands of jobs, often in communities which need them the most.”

Ana Haurie, Respira International CEO and co-founder, adds, “Rising global temperatures underline that it is absolutely vital for corporates to augment existing carbon emissions strategies with further solutions to address the climate emergency. This partnership with Drax marks a new and exciting development for Respira as it is our first engineered carbon removals project.”

In the U.S. the $739 billion Inflation Reduction Act includes an enhanced level of support for carbon removal technologies.

Under the terms of the MoU with Drax, Respira would be able to purchase CDRs produced by Drax in North America, receiving up to 400,000 tonnes of CDRs a year over a five-year period to sell on a voluntary carbon market. This would enable buyers, such as corporations and financial institutions, to achieve their own carbon emissions reduction targets.

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