Enfinium, a UK energy-produced-from-waste operator, has announced the successful launch of the country’s first carbon capture pilot at an energy-from-waste facility.
This achievement marks a significant milestone for the sector and enfinium’s strategy to implement Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology across its UK sites.
The initiative aims to deliver large-scale carbon removals and contribute to the UK’s Net Zero objectives.
The pilot uses a compact, containerized version of the CCS technology that enfinium potentially plans to implement at all its facilities.
This technology, provided by the global green tech firm Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI), has been set up at enfinium’s Ferrybridge-1 energy from waste plant in Knottingley, West Yorkshire. The system successfully captures one tonne of CO2 emissions daily from the plant’s operations.
The trial aims to showcase how CCS technology can be scaled across enfinium’s six energy-from-waste facilities to capture CO2 effectively. It will gather operational data on key metrics such as CO2 capture efficiency and solvent performance, including testing various amine solvents.
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Scheduled to run for at least 12 months, the pilot will provide crucial insights for broader applications.
Earlier this year, enfinium unveiled its Net Zero Transition Plan, outlining its strategy to cut its carbon footprint and achieve up to 1.2 million tonnes of annual carbon removals by the 2030s.
The plan, supported by a £1.7 billion investment, emphasizes the adoption of carbon capture and storage technology at its facilities. This pilot represents a critical step in enfinium’s efforts to refine and expand CCS technology.
Mike Maudsley, CEO of enfinium, said, “We are proud to have this sector-leading project up and running at our Ferrybridge facility. Carbon capture and storage technology is central to how the UK will be able to decarbonise its unrecyclable waste.”
He added, “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.”
CCS at energy from waste facilities generates ‘negative emissions’ by permanently capturing and storing CO2 from biogenic waste, which has already absorbed CO2 from the atmosphere. This results in a net reduction in atmospheric carbon.
The Climate Change Committee’s July report highlighted the need for increased carbon removals to reach Net Zero, while Oxford Institute research suggests the energy from the waste sector could contribute up to 8 million tonnes of removals.
