enfinium has launched the UK’s first carbon capture pilot at an Energy from Waste (EfW) site.
The launch was hailed as a ‘milestone’ for the sector and for enfinium’s plans to deploy Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology across its UK facilities to generate carbon removals at scale and support the UK’s Net Zero target.
The technology, a containerised, scaled-down version of the CCS technology that enfinium could deploy across all of its sites, was supplied by global green technology company Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI).
The pilot is installed at enfinium’s Ferrybridge-1 EfW facility in Knottingley, West Yorkshire, and is capturing one tonne of CO2 emissions from the plant’s operations each day.
The trial is being used to demonstrate how the technology can be applied at scale across enfinium’s fleet of six EfW facilities to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The 12-month pilot is collecting operational data on performance, such as CO2 capture rate and solvent degradation, and will assess the performance of different amine solvents.
It comes as enfinium is advancing the planning and consenting programme for the installation of CCS at its Ferrybridge 1 and 2 Facilities in West Yorkshire by launching a five-week public consultation, starting today to October 20th.
Earlier this year, enfinium announced its Net Zero Transition Plan, setting out how it will decarbonise its own operations and deliver up to 1.2 million tonnes of carbon removals a year in the 2030s.
The plan is underpinned by £1.7bn investment, with a focus on investing in CCS technology across its EfW facilities to deliver carbon removals at scale.
Deploying CCS at EfW facilities generates durable carbon removals, or ‘negative emissions.’
Around 50% of the unrecyclable waste produced by society is made up of biogenic content including organic material such as waste food, plants and paper, which has already naturally absorbed CO2 from the atmosphere. Installing CCS technology at an EfW facility enables this CO2 to be permanently captured and stored rather than released back into the atmosphere, resulting in a net carbon removal from the atmosphere.
The Climate Change Committee’s Progress Report, in July, noted that the UK must accelerate the production of carbon removals to stay on track to achieve Net Zero.2 Recent research by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies found that the energy from waste sector could contribute up to 8 million tonnes of carbon removals.3
Mike Maudsley, CEO of enfinium, said CCS technology is central to how the UK will be able to decarbonise its unrecyclable waste.
He said, “CCS is also a critical to generating carbon removals at scale so the UK can achieve Net Zero. Using carbon capture, the energy from waste sector can provide significant levels of carbon removals and enfinium, with the support of HZI, are taking steps now to achieve this.”
Bruno-Frédéric Baudouin, CEO of HZI, said the operational pilot demonstrates its capability to deliver vital decarbonising infrastructure for the waste sector that is critical to the industry’s Net Zero ambitions.
He said, “The project will meaningfully expand our carbon capture knowledge base and provide a springboard for delivering decarbonisation solutions worldwide. Our vision is to enhance decarbonisation, circularity and supply security for present and future generations.”
Olivia Powis, CEO, Carbon Capture and Storage Association, said with millions of tonnes of unrecyclable waste produced by the UK, it was an important demonstration of the use of CCS to generate clean power via energy from waste, as well as providing a future route to establishing the UK’s greenhouse gas removal market.
