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UK Toyota plant could be powered by biogas via EQTEC project

Thursday, 18 March 2021

British gasification technology firm EQTEC and Toyota have teamed up on a deal that could see the auto giant's manufacturing plant in Wales powered by biogas.

The deal, announced 11 March 2021 sets a collaboration framework where Toyota Motor Manufacturing will aid EQTEC in developing a Waste-to-Energy plant (WtE) in Deeside, Flintshire. The vessel for doing this will be the Deeside Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) project which EQTEC acquired in June 2020.

EQTEC and Toyota have agreed to explore an ‘innovative, circular, and sustainable’ WtE solution for Toyota’s engine manufacturing plant in Deeside, which is adjacent to the RDF project. The two companies will work towards scoping and evaluating the potential supply of biomethane and green electricity and the conversion of manufacturing waste, through the sharing of cost data, energy usage, and other information.

A successful WtE solution could see the carbon footprint of the Toyota site decrease annually. The companies will work together towards establishing a power and green gas supply to the Toyota engine manufacturing site through the construction and commissioning of the Deeside RDF project.

David Palumbo, CEO of EQTEC, said: “Toyota has always been a leader in innovation and we are delighted to support and work with them on a localised, sustainable waste-to-energy solution.

“This partnership further demonstrates the capabilities and applications of EQTEC’s advanced gasification solutions and enhances our already strong pipeline of projects in development.”

Green gases

For the WtE solution, it is expected that organic wastes will eventually be processed via anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, which can be used for heat and power.

Non-organic wastes including municipal and industrial refuse would be handled by the RDF plant, the output which could then be incinerated, consigned to landfill, or used to generate green electricity using EQTEC’s Advanced Gasification technology.

It should be noted that the gas output from all the mentioned processes (anaerobic digestion, landfill gas, gasification) can be further processed to produce renewable methane and injected into the UK grid, where it is eligible to receive government support (primarily the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive) and Guarantees of Origin (via the GGCS or GGT programs).

Sources

Bioenergy News

deeside.com