Costain and engineering firm A E Yates are using robots to print 90 high-strength concrete bases to support 1.3km of pipelines that will carry captured carbon dioxide (CO2) across Teesside for eventual storage under the North Sea.
They’re working for the Northern Endurance Partnership, a joint venture of BP, Equinor and TotalEnergies developing the Teesside Carbon Capture Pipeline to transport CO2 from industrial carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in Teesside to a compression facility and out to the Endurance undersea carbon store via an offshore pipeline.
Costain is the delivery partner with A E Yates, providing civil engineering services.
They have teamed up with Hyperion Robotics to print the bases, an approach that eliminates formwork and allows precise, repeatable production.
Stronger, lighter, faster
Compared to traditional precast elements, the approach will require less soil excavation, cut the use of concrete and steel by 40%, and reduce carbon emissions by up to 50%, the team said, adding it also cuts onsite labour and plant.
The bases are up to 10 times stronger than traditional structures, despite being up to 60% lighter, thanks to a thin, reinforced base design, they added.
Hyperion will supply the project from Forge I, its new factory near Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire.
Costain programme director Mark Howard said Hyperion’s printing technology would provide “myriad efficiency, sustainability and safety benefits for this important project”.
Fernando De los Rios, CEO at Hyperion Robotics, said: “By combining engineering expertise, digital design and automated manufacturing, we can reduce material use and carbon emissions while meeting the highest standards of quality, performance and code compliance.”
Rich Denny, managing director of the Northern Endurance Partnership, said: “This kind of collaboration is critical to delivering a world-class CCS network that will help decarbonise industry, protect jobs and drive long-term economic growth in the region.”
Costain is also the delivery partner for Net Zero Teesside Power, which aims to be the world’s first gas-fired power station with carbon capture and storage.
