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Thermal transition

Making the transition to cleaner thermal energy generation.

Generating power in the age of net zero means moving away from carbon-rich fuels and replacing them with increasingly cost-competitive renewable technologies.

This transition must be handled carefully to ensure that energy security is strengthened, access to affordable energy is improved, and social and economic development is supported effectively.

To aid the switch, owners and operators must consider which existing assets and infrastructure can best be leveraged, and how.

What can we do for you?

Our 1600 people-strong global power team understands all aspects of thermal energy.

Carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS)

This technology is crucial to minimising emissions from hard to abate sectors, the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels, and the continued use of carbon-rich fuels in developing and emerging markets.

Decarbonisation pathways

We have supported countries around the world to assess different decarbonisation options. Our award-winning 2050 Calculator programme enables users to develop pathways to net zero, taking account of climate science, social, environmental and economic impacts, and commercial considerations.

Fuel switching

We plan, design and help implement projects using alternative fuels. These include the production of green hydrogen by electrolysis using renewable power.

Energy efficiency

We support clients to achieve energy efficiencies by upgrading or replacing equipment and assets, in line with planned asset management and investment cycles. We also repurpose existing assets, such as gas pipelines, which can be used to deliver hydrogen or biogas.

Grid stability

We support clients to achieve energy efficiencies by upgrading or replacing equipment and assets, in line with planned asset management and investment cycles. We also repurpose existing assets, such as gas pipelines, which can be used to deliver hydrogen or biogas.

Delivering the right support

We combine global expertise and experience with local knowledge and delivery to identify and deliver sustainable solutions.

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Redcar hydrogen community, Teesside, England. Switching from natural gas to 100% hydrogen presents a raft of capacity and network challenges, which our team are tackling in a project that could revolutionise the UK’s energy supply and cut emissions hugely.

Services we provide

Thermal transition for a sustainable energy future

Our 1600-strong global power team understand all aspects of thermal energy. We combine international expertise and experience with local knowledge, to identify and deliver sustainable solutions.

We can:

Provide concept design, screening and optioneering for modernisation of existing thermal plants to reduce emissions and realise the greatest possible value from investment; and for new plant to meet your operational needs in line with planned pathways to net zero.
Conduct pre-feasibility and feasibility studies to assess and screen different technical and design options for your project, helping your decision making.
Assess project viability, and economic, environmental and social impacts to ensure your project will meet your business objectives, comply with legal and lending requirements, and deliver for both people and planet.
Identify risks and opportunities so your project can be designed to deliver long-term resilience and whole-life cost efficiency and secure maximum environmental and social benefit.

We can:

Forecast demand, model revenue, conduct financial analysis, assess revenue risk to give you and lenders the confidence to invest.
Advise on procurement strategy to incentivise suppliers to support your objectives, including effectively decarbonising and mitigating climate change impacts.
Develop and produce your business case for an investible project that delivers the best outcomes for your stakeholders.

We can:

Design processes, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and control, civil and structural elements, ensuring assets integrate seamlessly and systems work smoothly.
Secure social, health, environmental, permitting consent across multiple agencies.
Review safety and risk to identify hazards and develop cost-effective measures to prevent damage and avoid disruption. Conduct design reviews that focus on ways to optimise designs, simplify construction, improve efficiency, and save carbon and costs.
Provide owner’s engineer support to take you through concept optimisation, request for propsal (RFP) preparation and tender evaluation, contractor supervision, construction monitoring, and commissioning and performance test monitoring.

We can:

Provide project management and contractor support across every aspect of the project lifecycle to deliver a project to time, cost and quality.
Support procurement, including specification, tender preparation, bidder evaluation and selection, contract negotiation and supervision to forge long-term partnerships with contractors and suppliers around outcomes that matter to you.
Conduct ongoing reviews, capturing and processing data essential to good asset management, and enabling better decisions, faster and for less cost.
Provide decommissioning support, including digital tools and technology achieve better, faster and smarter demolition and disposal.

Our experience

Explore this selection of recent project stories to discover how we are working with owners and operators to deliver thermal transition:

Carbon capture and storage, Thailand

We identified the right location for a carbon capture and storage facility on Thailand’s eastern seaboard that will enable PTT Exploration & Production to reduce its emissions and those of nearby industries, as well as help the country achieve its 2050 carbon neutrality and 2065 net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goals.
Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM), Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam

The Asian Development Bank’s ETM is a blended finance approach that seeks to accelerate the retirement of coal-fired power plants and replace them with clean power capacity. We provided technical advisory services for the ETM feasibility study, including identifying suitable renewable energy replacement options for coal-fired power plants.
NortH2, Europe

The NortH2 project will create the world’s largest system of offshore wind farms, transmitting power onshore to produce green hydrogen by electrolysis, then transporting the hydrogen via converted gas infrastructure to industrial centres in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
North Sea Wind Power Hub, Europe

Working with a consortium of transmission system operators, we’re designing a new concept for hydrogen production integrated with the export of electrical power to the onshore grid. This will use cutting-edge hydrogen production technology to support energy recovery from offshore wind on an unprecedented scale across north-west Europe.
Oak Creek and Elm Road power plants, Milwaukee, USA

A rock tunnel extending under Lake Michigan provides a robust supply of cooling water to the Oak Creek and Elm Road power plants. We designed the shafts, tunnel, and other infrastructure for the lake-water intake system, capable of supplying 8.3 million cu. m. (2.2 billion gallons) a day to the plants. Wedgewire screens made of a special alloy keep zebra mussels from fouling and entering the water intakes – a constant problem on the Great Lakes.
Redcar hydrogen community, Teesside, England

Our engineers used their expertise gained from other hydrogen projects as well as oil and gas pipelines to design a new high-pressure hydrogen network to supply 2000 homes and businesses in Redcar.
Study of hydrogen in natural gas infrastructure, USA

The INGAA Foundation, a trade association representing the entire value chain for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of interstate natural gas pipeline and storage,selected Mott MacDonald to conduct its Comprehensive Study of Hydrogen in Natural Gas Infrastructure. The aim of the study is to identify and summarize state-of-the-art practices for blending hydrogen into the natural gas transmission network in the US.