Drax will establish its North American headquarters for Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) in Houston, Texas.
The new office will serve as the hub for Drax’s team focused on bringing BECCS projects to fruition throughout the United States and Canada.
Two initial sites in the US south for deploying BECCS have been selected and are progressing, according to the biomass giant.
It is also evaluating nine further sites in North America, Drax continues to evaluate nine further sites in North America, creating a pipeline of development opportunities into the 2030s.
Drax said it has already started hiring what will eventually amount to over 100 new jobs in Texas to support the company’s rapid growth strategy, particularly focused on the development of new-build BECCS facilities, associated carbon capture and storage infrastructure, and the conversion of coal-fired electric generation plants to BECCS facilities across North America.
Drax’s office in Monroe, Louisiana will remain the headquarters for its North America Pellet Operations, which also includes regional offices in Vancouver and Prince George, Canada.
“With the growing global demand for high-quality carbon removals, Houston was a natural fit for our BECCS headquarters as it is the energy capital of the world with a proven, highly skilled workforce that will be needed to lead the world’s clean energy transition,” said Drax CEO Will Gardiner.
“Additionally, the US Gulf Coast has emerged as a major hub for carbon capture and sequestration investment and technology, a key component of the company’s plans to expand clean electric generation from renewable resources.”
“With additional sites under evaluation for further BECCS development, our new Houston office will allow the Drax team to accelerate its work in bringing cleaner and affordable electricity options to the market,” Gardiner added.
“We are thrilled at Drax’s announcement to name Houston as their BECCS headquarters, as it comes at a time of great momentum for Houston’s energy transition ecosystem and further positions the region as a leader in energy efficiency and carbon capture,” said Jane Stricker, Houston Energy Transition Initiative, executive director and SVP of Energy Transition at the Greater Houston Partnership.
“Houston is uniquely positioned to lead the transition to a cleaner, more efficient and more sustainable, lower carbon world, and Drax’s ambition to become a carbon negative business by 2030 aligns with our regions expertise and continued investment,” said Stricker.
Drax selects Houston, Texas for its BECCS headquarters
