The Humber estuary in northern England is ideally suited to access abundant clean energy and massive carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage sites.
This region is home to the world’s largest offshore wind farm, which will generate enough electricity for up to 6 million homes when completed by 2027. Further from the coast in the southern North Sea, lies a giant vault on the seabed that can safely store CO₂.
Yet the Humber emits more CO₂ than any other region in the UK. Estimates put the figure at 12 million tonnes per year – equivalent to the CO₂ released from driving a petrol car around the earth 2 million times. Cities like Hull and the surrounding urban environment could provide opportunities for carbon removal.
Technologies such as direct air capture (DAC) can remove CO₂ directly from the air with high levels of purity. That captured CO₂ can then be used as a raw material for local industries – such as meat processing, drink production, construction and chemical manufacturing – while reducing overall carbon emissions.
In 2023, the UK company Mission Zero Technologies installed a DAC unit at the University of Sheffield. The captured CO₂ is used for making sustainable aviation fuel at a university research centre. Another DAC system was installed in Norfolk in 2025 and the CO₂ produced is used to make limestone for manufacturing bricks and concrete blocks for building constructions.
While DAC is no quick fix, it is a climate solution when working alongside other approaches and technologies to reduce carbon emissions.
DAC can be built to be compact and modular. Multiple units can be connected together to form a larger unit. One of the first DAC plants was built by Climeworks, a pioneer in carbon removal technology in Switzerland. The CO₂ from Climeworks’ DAC units was directly sent into nearby greenhouses for growing vegetables. The revenue from the sale of that CO₂ made this technology financially viable. The modularity of DAC systems makes it easier to install them into existing structures.
DAC units need both electricity and heat, ideally from renewable sources. An in-built heat source, such as a heat pump, can minimise the reliance on fossil-fuel-based energy sources while reducing costs. This makes it’s possible for DAC units to run entirely on renewable electricity.
Carbon capture in communities
In the effort to reduce CO₂ emissions in the Humber, the focus has been mainly on large decarbonisation projects. This is understandable, as integrated deployments in the form of regional hubs help achieve climate targets with the Humber aiming to acheive its net-zero target by the year 2040.
However, installing smaller DAC units in urban areas can help build more support for those larger-scale projects and bring the technology closer to the communities.
Smaller DAC units can easily be turned on and off depending on the availability of electricity. This makes them well suited to using clean energy from renewable sources which varies depending on the weather conditions. As such the technology can be implemented in the Humber where offshore wind farms generate clean energy in abundance.
Our research across the Humber region explores how best to pair offshore wind with DAC. While CO₂ storage suits large scale DAC, using CO₂ captured by smaller DAC units is an alternative way to monetise this. This reduces reliance of local industries on external sources of CO₂.
The Humber’s high output of clean energy could power the DAC units. When that captured CO₂ is sold to local businesses, this can provide economic benefits within the area.
People are more inclined towards something that they can see, which benefits them as a community. Individual DAC units can be installed in parks, on rooftops of public spaces and existing urban buildings such as libraries or high-rise residential buildings. Information boards located around the parks can help local people understand how the technology works and support similar, larger projects that could provide more jobs in the future.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.