{"id":445,"date":"2026-05-14T13:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/14\/the-humber-region-and-its-cities-are-a-hub-for-carbon-removal-heres-why\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:08:14","slug":"the-humber-region-and-its-cities-are-a-hub-for-carbon-removal-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/14\/the-humber-region-and-its-cities-are-a-hub-for-carbon-removal-heres-why\/","title":{"rendered":"The Humber region and its cities are a hub for carbon removal \u2013 here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span> Mike Seaman\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Humber estuary in northern England is ideally suited to access abundant clean energy and massive carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) storage sites.<\/p>\n

This region is home to the world\u2019s largest offshore wind farm<\/a>, 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 CO\u2082<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet the Humber emits more CO\u2082 than any other region in the UK. Estimates put the figure at 12 million tonnes per year \u2013 equivalent to the CO\u2082 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<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Technologies such as direct air capture (DAC) can remove CO\u2082 directly from the air with high levels of purity. That captured CO\u2082 can then be used as a raw material for local industries \u2013 such as meat processing, drink production, construction and chemical manufacturing<\/a> \u2013 while reducing overall carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the UK company Mission Zero Technologies installed a DAC unit at the University of Sheffield. The captured CO\u2082 is used for making sustainable aviation fuel<\/a> at a university research centre. Another DAC system was installed in Norfolk in 2025 and the CO\u2082 produced is used to make limestone for manufacturing bricks and concrete blocks<\/a> for building constructions. <\/p>\n

While DAC is no quick fix, it is a climate solution when working alongside other approaches and technologies to reduce carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

Climeworks has been scaling up direct air capture technology.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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>, a pioneer in carbon removal technology in Switzerland. The CO\u2082 from Climeworks\u2019 DAC units was directly sent into nearby greenhouses for growing vegetables<\/a>. The revenue from the sale of that CO\u2082 made this technology financially viable. The modularity of DAC systems makes it easier to install them into existing structures.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s possible for DAC units to run entirely on renewable electricity.<\/p>\n

Carbon capture in communities<\/h2>\n

In the effort to reduce CO\u2082 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. <\/p>\n

However, installing smaller DAC units<\/a> in urban areas can help build more support for those larger-scale projects and bring the technology closer to the communities. <\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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. <\/p>\n

Our research<\/a> across the Humber region explores how best to pair offshore wind with DAC. While CO\u2082 storage suits large scale DAC, using CO\u2082 captured by smaller DAC units is an alternative way to monetise this. This reduces reliance of local industries on external sources of CO\u2082. <\/p>\n

The Humber\u2019s high output of clean energy could power the DAC units. When that captured CO\u2082 is sold to local businesses, this can provide economic benefits within the area. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mike Seaman\/Shutterstock The Humber estuary in northern England is ideally suited to access abundant clean energy and massive carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) storage sites. This region is home to the world\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}