Espoo, Finland, May 11, 2022 – Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) has been selected as the preferred gasifier supplier to Protos Biofuels Ltd (Protos), a project developed by Advanced Biofuel Solutions Ltd (ABSL) and Greenergy. Protos announced that its first municipal waste advanced biofuels project has progressed into the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase.
Petrofac has been appointed to deliver the FEED with SFW to supply the fluidized-bed gasifier that converts the household waste into synthesis gas (syngas) as part of ABSL’s RadGas process in which the syngas is cleaned in a direct current plasma arc furnace. The clean syngas is then converted into biomethane and biohydrogen.
The commercial scale Protos plant will incorporate ABSL’s RadGas process technology and be the first to produce grid-grade biomethane and biohydrogen from municipal waste. Located on the Protos site in the North West of England, the project site is part of HyNet North West, one of the UK’s leading industrial decarbonization projects.
Due for completion in 2025, the project will divert 150,000 tonnes of household waste annually, the amount produced by a large town, from landfill and incineration, converting it into renewable low-carbon fuel. By using waste as a feedstock, the plant will avoid 160,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, equivalent to the emissions of 107,000 cars, through the replacement of fossil fuel with waste-based fuel alternatives and the capture of carbon dioxide.
Martin Hopkins, Project Director for Protos Biofuels, said: “We are delighted to bring the world’s first commercial scale municipal waste-based biofuel plant to FEED stage. Through Petrofac and SFW, we are bringing together world class partners to develop a world leading project to decarbonise transport. When complete, the plant will play an essential role in delivering the UK’s net zero and energy security strategies.”
“This award is evidence of our extensive experience and expertise with fluidized bed gasification of biomass and waste streams built up over more than forty years. Waste to value offering is a core part of our strategy to provide innovative solutions that support our partners in decarbonizing energy generation and energy intensive industries, as well as the production of synthetic fuels and raw materials used in these industries. We are therefore very excited to be part of this milestone project and look forward to working with Petrofac, ABSL and Greenergy to make it a success”, said Frank Ligthart, Vice President Strategic Business Development, Waste to Value, SFW.
Sumitomo SHI FW
Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) has been providing innovative energy solutions to our customers for over 100 years. SFW’s mission is to enable the energy transition to a carbon-free future through decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization.
SFW’s solutions expand from the world-leading circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technology to long-duration energy storage (LDES), waste-to-energy (WTE), waste-to-value (WTV), carbon capture (CCUS) and services for the global power and industrial markets. Through co-creation, partnerships, and ecosystem collaboration SFW aims to accelerate the speed of decarbonization and create more value for its customers.
SFW has global energy experts with more than 1800 talented staff, across multiple locations, covering the globe in North America, Europe, and Asia.
For more information, please visit: https://www.shi-fw.com/ or contact Frank Ligthart:
+358 40 561 9612, frank.ligthart@shi-g.com
Protos Biofuels Ltd
Protos Biofuels is a JV formed in 2021 between Advanced Biofuel Solutions Ltd (‘ABSL’), a patented technology company, and Greenergy, a leading manufacturer and supplier of waste-based biofuels, to develop, construct and operate up to five municipal waste-based biofuel plants in the UK.
Using ABSL’s proven and patented RadGas technology, the first plant situated at Protos in the North West will convert annually 150,000 tonnes of municipal waste into biomethane for gas vehicles or biohydrogen for hydrogen vehicles.
Together, the five plants would replace millions of litres of fossil petrol and diesel used in transport fuels, saving 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, with the output of the plants equivalent to powering
5,000 HGVs.
Greenergy
Europe’s largest manufacturer of biodiesel from waste, Greenergy operates three waste-to-biodiesel plants: two on the east coast of England and a third in Amsterdam. Greenergy is continuing to invest and progress other renewable transport fuel projects, including turning waste tyres into advanced biofuels.
Greenergy is an established supplier and distributor of transportation fuels with a proven track record
as the low-cost supplier delivering highly reliable customer service. Greenergy principally markets in the UK, Ireland and Canada.
ABSL
Advanced Biofuel Solutions Ltd (ABSL) is a technology company dedicated to providing solutions to the challenges of Net Zero. By deploying its proprietary technology, RadGas, it is able to transform household waste into low carbon biofuels that can replace fossil fuels in parts of the economy that are hard to electrify.
In the production of those much-needed low carbon biofuels, RadGas is also able to capture the carbon
in the waste as carbon dioxide, supporting the transition Net Zero.
ABSL was founded in March 2019 and is based in Swindon, UK. It is a private company backed by investment funds, high net worth individuals and supported with external funding from the UK Government.
For more information on ABSL, or the RadGas process, click here: https://absl.tech/
Market context
The UK Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) legislation requires that transportation fuels must contain a growing percentage of renewable Development Fuels. Development Fuels are defined as new types of advanced biofuels made from sustainable wastes, such as municipal waste. This content target was introduced at 0.1% of total fuel by volume in 2019 and continues to increase each year to 2.8% by 2032.
The disposal of municipal waste in the UK is a significant problem, with a significant amount of waste from UK homes and businesses sent to landfill or incinerated.