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Plastic to Hydrogen Facility in West Dunbartonshire Approved to Help Country Produce Cleaner Energy

By June 8, 2022 6   min read  (1130 words)

June 8, 2022 |

Fuel Cells Works, Plastic to Hydrogen Facility in West Dunbartonshire Approved to Help Country Produce Cleaner Energy

PLANS for an innovative £20m facility in West Dunbartonshire to turn waste plastic into hydrogen and support the UK’s energy transition to Net Zero have been approved.

West Dunbartonshire Council have given the green light to the plant, the second of its kind in the UK. The plans were lodged by Peel NRE – part of Peel L&P – for the site at Rothesay Dock on the north bank of the River Clyde.

The 13,500 tonne facility will use Powerhouse Energy Plc’s (AIM: PHE) pioneering technology to create a local source of sustainable hydrogen from non-recyclable plastics, destined for landfill, incineration or export overseas.

The hydrogen will be used as a clean fuel for HGVs, buses and cars, with plans for a linked hydrogen refuelling station on the site. It follows the Government doubling its hydrogen production target by 2030 as part of the recently-published Energy Security Strategy so more clean and affordable energy can be produced in Britain as energy prices continue to rise globally.

Richard Barker, Development Director at Peel NRE, said:

“This is a fantastic moment for West Dunbartonshire and the surrounding area. It shows how the UK is innovating when it comes to rolling out new net zero technologies. The facility will address the dual challenge of both tackling our problem plastic whilst creating hydrogen, a sustainable fuel for future generations.

“Whilst the focus must remain on removing plastic from society, there are still end of life plastics that need managing. The £20m plant will play a pivotal role in making the best use of non-recyclable material, with the resulting hydrogen able to help cut carbon emissions from vehicles.”

It’s the second such planned facility, with the first to be delivered at Peel NRE’s Protos site in Cheshire near Ellesmere Port – due to begin construction this year. In Scotland, its estimated construction will take around 15 months to complete the facility.

Paul Drennan-Durose, Chief Executive Officer of Powerhouse Energy Group, said:

“The consent is another key landmark for the rollout of our pioneering technology in the UK, creating a local source of hydrogen production and a vehicle refuelling station. It’ll help deliver a low carbon alternative to diesel vehicles, responding to both Scottish and UK Government missions to decarbonise our communities and economy.

“This is the second in a planned portfolio of such recycling facilities across the UK we’re currently exploring with Peel NRE. It demonstrates our commitment to tackling the greatest challenges of our time – tackling climate change and addressing our waste plastic – with innovative technologies.”

Zero Waste Scotland estimates that around 500,000 tonnes of waste plastic are produced in Scotland every year, with research undertaken by Anthesis, on behalf of Peel NRE, showing that around 300,000 tonnes are within the central belt of Scotland.

Peel NRE has signed a collaboration agreement with Powerhouse Energy Group to develop 11 waste plastic to hydrogen facilities across the UK over the next few years, with the option of exclusive rights for a total of 70 facilities.

About Peel NRE – Re-energising Natural Resourcese

Peel NRE, part of Peel L&P, is at the heart of the nation’s activity around clean growth and the circular economy – helping the UK achieve net zero by 2050 and supporting regions in their actions to achieve climate emergency targets.

We reuse, repurpose and re-energise natural resources to develop and maintain vital infrastructure across the UK and are experts in renewable energies, district heating, waste to value, water management, materials management and electric vehicle charging.

Our Protos Cheshire energy and resource hub leads the way in low carbon energy and waste management through innovative technologies including the UK’s first plastic-to-hydrogen facility, a 50MW windfarm, a 26MW biomass plant, a 49MW energy from waste plant in construction and a plastic park blueprint to revolutionise plastic recycling nationwide.

More about Peel NRE at www.peellandp.co.uk/peelnre

About Peel L&P – Realising Possibility

Peel L&P is an ambitious regeneration business which owns and manages 12 million sq ft of property and 20,000 acres of land and water across the UK, with a total portfolio value of over £2.5 billion.

Established in 1972, it has generations of history, heritage and expertise and is responsible for some of the most transformational projects in the country including The Trafford Centre, Peel Waters’ MediaCity and Peel NRE’s Protos energy and resource hub in Cheshire.

Other Peel Waters regeneration sites include Liverpool Waters, Wirral Waters, Trafford Waters, Manchester Waters, Glasgow Waters and Chatham Waters with a development pipeline of around 30,000 homes, 10 million sq ft of commercial space and circa 160 acres of public realm over the next 20 to 25 years.

As part of The Peel Group, it strives to make a positive impact on people’s lives and is a key partner in helping central and local Government tackle unemployment, reach net zero carbon targets, solve the housing crisis and level-up the country’s regions to improve the prosperity, climate resilience and health and wellbeing of communities.

Peel L&P has accelerated its action towards addressing climate change and biodiversity loss, and its five-year sustainability plan is aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It was also the first company in the UK to third party verify buildings as net zero carbon, as defined by the UK Green Building Council.

Peel L&P’s specialisms include large-scale mixed-use regeneration schemes, residential, retail, industrial and logistics, hospitality & leisure, and low carbon energy development.

ABOUT POWERHOUSE ENERGY GROUP

PowerHouse Energy, the sustainable hydrogen company, has developed a technology that provides a solution to non-recyclable plastic and produces a clean energy that can help improve air quality by replacing diesel with hydrogen as a transport fuel.

PowerHouse technology aims to be used at a local level providing a closed loop solution within the community for non-recyclable plastic waste, cleaning up our oceans and helping to accelerate the clean energy transition to reach the target of net zero emissions by 2030.

The Distributed Modular Generation (DMG®) technology can utilise non-recyclable plastic, end-of-life-tyres, and other waste streams to efficiently and economically convert them into syngas from which valuable products such as chemical precursors, hydrogen, electricity and other industrial products may be derived.

PowerHouse’s technology is one of the world’s first proven, distributed, modular, hydrogen from waste (HfW) process.

The PowerHouse (DMG®) process can generate up to 2 tonnes of road-fuel quality hydrogen and more than 58MWh of exportable electricity per day.

PowerHouse’s process produces low levels of safe residues and requires a small operating footprint, making it suitable for deployment at enterprise and community level. As announced on 11th February 2020 under its Supplemental Agreement with Peel Environmental, PowerHouse will receive an annual license fee of GBP500,000 in respect of each project which is commissioned.

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