Design of £7m Protos hydrogen facility revealed
Energy-from-waste specialist Waste2Tricity is to consult on a planning application for a £7m development at Peel Environmental’s Protos at Ellesmere Port.
The plans would see a plastics-to-hydrogen facility delivered at the 250-acre Cheshire site, with Waste2Tricity agreeing a 125-year lease with Peel. Waste2Tricity is the development partner of listed energy group PowerHouse.
The £7m facility would take up to 25 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic each day, and use it to produce hydrogen which could be used to power road vehicles. This local source of hydrogen could be used as a clean and low-cost fuel for buses, HGVs and eventually cars. The facility would also generate electricity which could be provided to commercial users via a microgrid at Protos.
Two community drop in events will be held at Elton Community Centre in Chester on Tuesday 4 June, 5pm–8pm, and Wednesday 5 June, 11am–2pm.
Jane Gaston from Peel Environmental, part of Peel L&P, said: “This is an exciting next stage of development at Protos which would help tackle two environmental problems facing society. We currently send almost 1.2 million tonnes of waste plastic to landfill every year. This facility would take plastics that cannot be reused or recycled and use them to provide a local source of hydrogen which can help to reduce air pollution when used as a clean and low cost fuel for buses, HGVs and cars.
“Our location next to the University of Chester’s Energy Centre provides a seamless link between industry and academia, with the PowerHouse Energy technology developed right next door. We’re looking to work with a range of partners and innovative technologies to create value from waste and build upon Protos’ reputation as a resource recovery and low carbon energy hub.”
Following consultation, a planning application for the development is expected to be submitted in summer 2019 with a decision from Cheshire West & Chester Council expected by the end of the year.
