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Ørsted seeks buyer for Northwich treatment plant

Ørsted has begun the search for a buyer for its Renescience project in Northwich, Cheshire, as it seeks to exit the waste treatment sector.

The plant is designed to treat unsorted residual waste using enzymes to create a ‘bioliquid’ and was referenced by Defra in the 2018 waste strategy (picture: Orsted.co.uk)

In its annual report for 2022 published on 1 February, the Danish energy company formerly known as DONG Energy explained that it has “initiated a process for identifying the right owner of our Renescience business, including our waste treatment facility in Northwich”.

The 120,000 tonne “first of its kind” facility completed commissioning in October 2020 after four years of delays. It is designed to treat unsorted residual waste using enzymes to create a ‘bioliquid’ and solid recovered fuel, while also generating electricity.

This process also, the company claims, sees recyclable material separated out from the residual waste fraction. Waste for the facility is supplied by FCC Environment and sourced from the north of England and the midlands.

Waste treatment is no longer part of our business model and strategic focus

  • Ørsted 

Losses

Ørsted says the facility has been accepting waste since going through commissioning, though the tonnages are unclear.

Last year, Ørsted said it was working on odours coming from the facility, after a string of complaints from local residents (see letsrecycle.com story).

Delays to the plant led to Ørsted taking a £50 million impairment charge. Ørsted Renescience Northwich also posted losses of £12 million and £10 million in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

The company now appears to be looking to cut its losses on the facility, though said the technology has “great potential”.

The report added: “The Renescience technology has great potential to help solve the increasing global waste challenge, and Ørsted has been a successful incubator for the technology. However, waste treatment is no longer part of our business model and strategic focus.”

Defra mentioned the plant in its 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy (source: Defra)

Strategy

The plant was among those to be featured as a case study in the government’s Resources and Waste Strategy 2018.

According to the Strategy, the technology could be used to recycle unsorted waste in areas with low rates of sorting refuse – such as high-density housing.

The topic of sorting mixed waste was raised this week by Zero Waste Europe (see letsrecycle.com story).

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