Project type

Advanced fuels

End-product

Hydrogen & CO2

What is happening

• We have been awarded BEIS funding award under their H2 BECCS Innovation programme for the enhancement of our biomass advanced gasification technology performances through the optimisation of the H2-CO2 separation process stage
• Our innovative pressurised advanced gasification technology (AGT) currently converts biomass into a hydrogen-rich Syngas

Location

Midlands, UK

Feedstock

Waste and biomass

Project type

Advanced fuels

End-product

rDME (Renewable and Recycled Carbon Dimethyl Ether)

What is happening

• We are currently constructing a 5 tonnes per day add-on syngas-to-rDME module at our operational centre to demonstrate the viability of an end-to-end waste-to-rDME solution
• rDME is considered to be one of the most promising renewable fuels thanks to its clean combustion characteristics and its inherent logistical effectiveness due to the fact that it can be transported in liquid form using largely established LPG infrastructure
• This 5 tonnes per day (tpd) waste-to-rDME demonstration seeks to deliver rDME produced from waste and biomass sources using our existing advanced gasification process coupled with a single-stage slurry-phase synthesis technology from RenFuD (Japan). DME has conventionally been synthesised from a two-step process involving methanol production as an intermediate. While effective, this process requires operation at a very significant scale to be economically viable as the capital cost of the two-step approach is very significant
• Our objective is to provide an approach for DME synthesis that provides true bulk supply that will be suited for off-grid decentralised distribution – rather than as an off-gas stream from waste that is economically viable at very larger scales. In order to achieve this, we are utilising an innovative single step approach that can provide ground-breaking process efficiency and economics
• We have evaluated this single step process further for implementation in a first-of-a-kind large scale waste to DME process in a plant rated at around 150 tonnes per day (tpd). This 5tpd demonstration will be its precursor demo to prove the end-to-end waste-to-rDME process ahead of our larger scale 150 tpd project. This will also allow for the provision of rDME molecules on the market much sooner for downstream supply chain engagement

Location

Midlands, UK

Feedstock

Waste

Project type

Advanced fuels

End-product

Hydrogen & CO2

What is happening

• We have been award funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy under their Greenhouse Gas Removals programme to develop a Carbon Capture and Hydrogen (CCH2) production add-on module to our  operational waste-to-syngas commercial-scale plant in the Midlands. The funding is part of the government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio
• We are seeking to demonstrate strong ongoing cost-reductions and improved quality and reliability to enable wide-spread deployment. We want to show the value of CO2 capture and sequestration through the production of hydrogen from biomass and waste feedstocks
• The addition of the CCH2 module will enable 20,000 tonnes per annum of greenhouse gas to be removed, delivering a net carbon-negative H2 modular solution for industrial or transport applications
• Our innovative BECCS-H₂ GGR solution has a de-risked scale-up pathway through its modular design which couples with our existing modular advanced gasification technology. The benefits of developing this standardised, modular solutions is to create a valuable waste and biomass resource through BECCS for H₂-rich fuels

Location

Midlands, UK

Feedstock

Waste and biomass

Project type

Advanced fuels

End-product

Diesel

What is happening

• We have been awarded Department for Transport funding as part of their Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition (F4C)
• This project will fully demonstrate the techno-commercial viability of the integration of Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) synthesis with our advanced conversion technology system at a high-fidelity engineering scale that is critical for full-scale technology adoption
• We are currently constructing a F-T synthesis add-on module which will take a proportion of the Syngas we make to produce up to 3m³ per day (25bpd) of F-T Diesel
• An extensive testing and analysis programme will follow integrated commissioning at our Sustainable Energy Centre
• This project has also begun research which could pave the way for low carbon aviation fuel

Location

Midlands, UK

Feedstock

Waste and biomass

Project type

Industrial

End-product

Decentralised energy vectors such as heat and electricity

What is happening

• Repowering the Black Country is one of seven industrial cluster decarbonisation projects funded by BEIS and UK Research and Innovation
• We are developing a business case targeted at distributed energy solutions focused on electricity and advanced fuels
• The plan is to create a low carbon energy hub with the ability to produce more electricity per tonne of waste processed and with a lower carbon footprint to other waste to energy technologies
• We envisage such a technology would be located in a new site not linked to an existing industrial business, most likely a brown field site
• We propose to source a waste supply from within the Black Country’s waste collection infrastructure and wider Industrial and commercial waste producers to provide a flexible energy solution which starts with electricity and then leads onto producing fuels and natural gas substitutes

Location

Black Country, Midlands, UK

Feedstock

Mixed biomass and flexible waste available within the Black Country