'UK first': Enfinium to trial carbon capture system at Ferrybridge energy from waste plant

Year-long CCS pilot set to start in July, capturing up to one tonne of CO2 per day from the West Yorkshire facility

Enfinium has unveiled plans to install what it claims would be the first pilot carbon capture system at a UK energy-from-waste plant, with the 12-month trial expected to start in July this year.

The company today announced it is teaming up with technology specialist Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) to install the carbon capture system at its Ferrybridge 1 energy from waste plant in West Yorkshire, where it is aiming to initially capture up to one tonne of CO2 per day from the facility.

The technology supplied by HZI will be a scaled-down "containerised" version of a carbon capture and storage system which Enfinium said it hoped could be used at energy from waste facilities on a larger, commercial scale.

It forms the latest step in Enfinium's broader ambition to transform its operations by investing up to £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.

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

"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."

Enfinium claims the project is the first of its kind to be piloted in Europe, and that it would enable the firm to compare the benefits of different amine solvents in the carbon capture process, and collect performance data on CO2 capture rates, energy consumption, and solvent degradation. 

"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," said Maudsley.

The announcement marks the latest collaboration between Enfinium and HZI, the latter of which has previously provided engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services to the Ferrybridge facilities. HZI is also acting as the EPC partner on Enfinium's £500m Skelton Grange energy from waste hub in Leeds, which is due to be operational from 2025.

Bruno-Frédéric Baudouin, chief executive of HZI, said the CCS pilot with Enfinium would help to "move the dial on the nation's decarbonisation of its waste management infrastructure".

"The pilot will contribute significantly to our carbon capture knowledge base, which we are developing across several projects in Europe, and represents an important step not only towards to reducing CO2 emissions in our industry, but also towards making CO2 circular and driving down demand for fossil resources globally," he added.

Today's announcement was also welcomed by the government's Minister for Investment and Regulatory Reform, Lord Dominic Johnson, who described the pilot CCS 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," he added.

Source: Businessgreen‍