Plans unveiled for ‘UK’s first’ waste-to-energy carbon capture pilot

Due to launch in July 2024, Enfinium have unveiled plans to install the first pilot carbon capture system at a UK energy-from-waste plant.

This morning, the UK’s largest energy-from-waste operator announced they will be teaming up with technology specialist Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) to install a new carbon capture system at its Ferrybridge 1 energy-from-waste plant in West Yorkshire, where it is targeting the capture of up to one tonne of CO2 per day from the facility.

The pilot of this new scheme is expected to begin this summer and will run for 12 months.

Efforts to produce the new project showcase Enfinium’s determination to reach net zero goals. Confirmation of the plans are the organisation’s latest step in its ambitions to transform its operations by investing £800m in installing carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems at both its Ferrybridge 1 and 2 energy from waste plants, which the firm estimates could capture more than 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 every year.

The technology that has been supplied by HZI will be a scaled-down ‘containerised’ version of a CCS system which Enfinium said it hoped could be used at energy-from-waste facilities on a bigger scale.

With CCS installed, the two Ferrybridge projects could become one of the largest carbon removal projects in Europe.

‘Installing carbon capture technology on energy from waste facilities is the only way the UK can decarbonise its unrecyclable waste,’ said Enfinium’s CEO Mike Maudsley. ‘It also offers benefits including creating durable carbon removals, or negative emissions, at scale and generating reliable homegrown carbon negative power.’

Mausdsley added: ‘This ground-breaking partnership with HZI will allow us to test multiple capture techniques that could in the future be deployed across our facilities at scale.’

Following this, today’s announcement has also been welcomed by Lord Dominic Johnson, minister for investment and regulatory reform. He has described the project as ‘another win for our country and a huge step to enabling the decarbonisation of the UK’s unrecyclable waste.

‘The government is making sure the UK continues to be an attractive choice for green investment, creating jobs and opportunities across the country as we transition to net zero.’

The National Grid have described carbon capture as ‘a way of reducing carbon emissions, which could be key to helping to tackle global warming. It’s a three-step process, involving: capturing the carbon dioxide produced by power generation or industrial activity, such as steel or cement making; transporting it; and then storing it deep underground.’

Image: Enfinium

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