Waste2Tricity (W2T), UK developer of the Powerhouse Energy DMG (Distributed Modular Generation) system, has signed an MoU with recycling specialist Advanced Sustainable Developments covering a plastics recycling plant.
Located at Protos, near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, a dedicated site for development of energy generation solutions, the plant will both recycle PET plastics and, where the plastics cannot be recycled, they will be processed into hydrogen fuel and electricity.
The plant will bring together processes which are already in commercial operation into a ‘first of a kind’ operation which brings all related technologies into a single site. Once the processes are validated, W2T reports it has a ‘significant’ order book from major UK waste operators.
Deputy chairman of W2T, Howard White, said: “We are excited to bring this first-of-a-kind technology into commercial use. We hope that this technology will soon be ready for a large scale roll out to eliminate the bulk of excess plastics in the world and particularly those that are ending up in the ocean and instead make hydrogen, the go-to fuel for the future, from this waste product.”
The plastic feedstock will be sourced at values below current landfill prices, with other sources also coming into play as back up to this primary stream.
Powerhouse Energy will deliver low-cost electricity to the ASD plant, while generated electricity will be sold to a private grid operated by Protos and back to ASD.
Planning permission for the Protos-based plant is expected to be submitted in mid-2019. Should this get the go-ahead, the plant could be operational by the end of the year.