A test plant could provide the blueprint for a full-sized carbon capture facility at a future Suffolk nuclear power station capable of off-setting most of the UK's rail emissions.

Sizewell C and Associated British Ports (ABP) have joined forces to create a "unique" demonstrator Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility at the Port of Lowestoft.

A scaled-up version of this could have a "big impact" on the UK's plan to cut carbon emissions and reach net zero, they say.

Direct Air Capture uses chemical reactions to pull carbon dioxide out of the air then stores it.

If the demonstrator project is successful, a permanent full-scale DAC unit could be employed using heat generated from Sizewell C to extract CO2 from the air.

This could potentially capture 1.5m tonnes of CO2 each year - enough to offset nearly all the UK's emissions from railway transport, say Sizewell C bosses.

The government awarded £3m to Sizewell C and its partners Birmingham University, Nottingham University, Helical, Atkins and Altrad Babcock in 2022 as part of the Greenhouse Gas Removals competition, to develop the DAC technology.

All the engineering, design, construction and testing activities for the demonstrator unit will be carried out in the UK.

Sizewell C director Julia Pyke said: “We are delighted to be developing plans with ABP to locate the demonstrator DAC facility at the Port of Lowestoft and to help drive net zero innovation in the East of England.

“DAC is one part of our plan to make Sizewell C a low-carbon hub, which will help kickstart other technologies and deliver even more value to our energy system.”

ABP regional director Andrew Harston said it was "a great step forward" in the two businesses' shared goals of achieving net zero.

"The project aligns closely with ABP’s recently published strategy, to achieve Net Zero by 2040, as well as SZC’s focus on the production of clean, low-carbon energy.

"ABP plans to continue to support the development of Sizewell C and looks forward to both the DAC development and the construction at Sizewell commencing as soon as possible."

Atkins and Altrad Babcock will apply their industrial engineering expertise to advise on the scalability of the technology for future integration at Sizewell C.