London firm plans cutting edge gasification plant

Waste2Tricity intends to initially develop a 50,000 tonne-a-year capacity pilot gasification facility at a yet-to-be-confirmed location which would turn both household and commercial waste into a hydrogen-rich gas which could then be used to generate electricity.

After installing the plant, the company then plans to increase its efficiency by at least 60% through the replacement of its internal combustion engine with alkaline fuel cells – one of the most developed fuel cell technologies which are known for their efficiency.

The company is seeking funding to get the venture off the ground and hopes to eventually gain a 35% market share of the carbon-based waste reprocessing market – which it said would be sufficient to support 110 gasification facilities of the same size.

Board

Waste2Tricity was launched in December 2008, with Peter Jones OBE, who sits on the London Waste and Recycling Board and is former director of waste management firm Biffa, as a director on its board alongside former environment minister Tim Yeo MP.

Mr Jones emphasised the benefits that Waste2Tricity's process would offer as a waste treatment option in light of the government's proposed changes to the Renewables Obligations Certificate (ROC) system of subsidies which aims to promote less developed forms of renewable energy.

As part of the proposed Renewables Obligation Order, from April 1, advanced gasification – such as that Waste2Tricity plan to use – would receive double ROCs compared to other more established green energy options.

Mr Jones said: “This system would mean gate fees for waste are a thing of the past – companies will be bidding for waste. The double ROCs you get, along with feed-in tariffs, heat incentive tariffs, electricity, heat and gas prices mean you could see non-recyclable waste worth £200-£300 per tonne.”

Process

Development of the pilot gasification plant is expected to take three years and to require an initial investment of £50 million.

Once constructed in three years' time, the gasification via plasma process would be used to treat a feedstock of municipal solid waste (MSW) by subjecting it to heat and oxygen to produce a synthetic gas – a combustible mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The ‘syngas' is then fed into an internal combustion engine to produce electricity.

After two years of operation, the combustion engine in the pilot plant would be replaced with alkaline fuel cells. The ‘syngas' would then be treated to be solely hydrogen and fed into the fuel cells as a constant source of energy for electricity generation.

Waste2Tricity claim that the creation of electricity from the hydrogen-rich ‘syngas' could reduce the carbon emissions related to energy creation and also offer a disposal option for municipal solid waste in light of decreasing landfill space.

The company also claim that its gasification process would be capable of turning one tonne of municipal solid waste (MSW) into 2,100kWh of power, with electricity costing as little as three pence per kilowatt hour at today's prices.

Fuel Cells

Waste2Tricity is seeking equity financing to develop its business. Investors who purchase shares will be eligible for tax relief under the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust – schemes run by HM Revenue and Customs.

The company said it was currently in talks with “strategic partners” regarding its pilot plant, and in February 2009 signed a supply deal for its alkaline fuel cells with Surrey-based fuel cell technology company, AFC Energy.

Waste2Tricity has received a loan of £150,000 from AFC while it raises capital for its first pilot plant, in exchange for handing over a £1 million licence fee to its energy partner in exchange for exclusive use of its fuel cell technology in the energy-from-waste sector.

Once the fuel cell system is completed, Waste2Tricity would pay AFC royalty payments for its technology and the deal also sees AFC given the option of buying 25% in Waste2Tricity and continuing to have two of its directors – Tim Yeo and Terry Walsh – on the fuel cell company's board.

Although Waste2Tricity does not foresee full commercialisation of its process for the next three to five years, it expects a full system of alkaline fuel cells to have been demonstrated as a proven technology by 2011/12.