All subjects
Technology & Suppliers

MHPS Europe to supply combustion tech for Uskmouth Power Plant conversion

In the United Kingdom (UK), SIMEC Atlantis Energy Ltd, a global developer, owner, and operator of sustainable energy projects has announced that after a competitive process, it has awarded Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe GmbH (MHPS Europe) the contract to carry out the design and development of the combustion system for the flagship Uskmouth Power Station conversion project in Newport, Wales.

Uskmouth Power Plant (photo courtesy SIMEC Atlantis Energy).
As part of its Uskmouth Power Station coal to energy pellet conversion project, SIMEC Atlantis Energy plans to build an energy pellet adjacent to the power station via a joint venture with N+P Group. The energy pellet plant will divert around 600 000 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic and paper waste per annum from landfill (photo courtesy SIMEC Atlantis Energy).

MHPS Europe is the European subsidiary of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. a joint venture company between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Hitachi, Ltd. integrating their operations in thermal power generation systems and other related businesses, headquartered in Yokohama, Japan.

The contract, which includes the large scale testing of the waste-derived pellets to be used as fuel in the converted Uskmouth plant, will cover:

  • Completion of industrial-scale milling tests on the fuel pellets;
  • Completion of industrial-scale combustion tests on the fuel; and
  • Completion of Uskmouth furnace burner system design

The results of these final validation tests are required ahead of the negotiation and award of the major Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to supply the full combustion system to the project under the terms and conditions necessary for the project to secure project finance.

Uskmouth is not only the largest end of waste conversion project in Europe, but it is also the pilot plant for the world’s aging fleet of coal-fired power plants and a solution for governments world-wide faced with the unavoidable problem of non-recyclable waste and landfill. The successful commissioning of the converted Uskmouth plant is vitally important for the United Kingdom in terms of future waste management strategies and commercially exciting for our shareholders and stakeholders. To have a technology and construction partner of the calibre of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems onboard is further validation of this ground-breaking project which is set to disrupt and change the way utilities and governments view aging coal-fired assets globally. Predicated on success at Uskmouth, we hope to work with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems on many future projects which will provide grid operators with stable, flexible generation and governments a solution for the perennial issue of the responsible disposal of non-recyclable waste, said Tim Cornelius, CEO of SIMEC Atlantis.

Comprehensive testing to validate fuel specs and combustion design

MHPS Europe anticipates that the fuel can be successfully milled and combusted using their existing technology and therefore the testing will take place using equipment already deployed across the globe in existing power projects.

It is expected that industrial milling testing will occur in Germany at an existing MHPS Europe milling test facility and then final industrial-scale combustion testing will occur at an existing MHPS combustion test facility in Nagasaki, Japan.

A display case with RDF pellets.
A display case with RDF pellets. SIMEC Atlantis expects the testing to provide final validation of the fuel specification and the mill and burner designs required for use on the Uskmouth Power Station conversion project.

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe is delighted that Atlantis has awarded us the pre-EPC combustion testing contract for its flagship Uskmouth conversion project. We are looking forward to working with both Atlantis and their fuel supplier, SIMEC Subcoal Fuels on this project to demonstrate the capabilities of our existing high-performance mills and burners on this new fuel. Our thermal generation equipment is already extensively proven on a large number of coal- and converted biomass projects around the world and we are confident we can deliver similar results using the waste-derived energy pellets being used at Uskmouth. The successful completion of this large-scale testing contract is a key enabler for a major EPC contract with Atlantis for the conversion of the Uskmouth power station and will hopefully open up a huge new market globally for MHPS and Atlantis for future similar conversions, commented Falk Hoffmeister, Vice President BU Plant Optimisation of MHPS Europe.

The fuel supplier for the project Simec Subcoal Fuels (SSF) will assemble a dedicated industrial-scale pilot production line for the supply of the test fuel at their existing pelleting facility in the Netherlands.

The fuel produced at this facility will be sent to Germany and Japan for final testing by MHPS. The milling, combustion efficiency and emission results are expected to be available in Q2 2020.

The Uskmouth project is the most exciting example of waste management solutions anywhere in the world at present. This project uses non-recyclable waste streams and converts them into a high-quality fuel pellet using the N+P Group’s proprietary Subcoal process which can be used to generate long term, predictable and sustainable energy in former coal-fired power stations. Through this process, usage of and dependence on fossil fuels can and will be significantly reduced. In addition, there will be a reduced requirement to send waste to landfill. Over the past few months, our dedicated team has worked with a number of partners around the world to further improve the quality of our pelletized fuel, so that it can be combusted in similar ways to how coal is combusted. At the N+P Group, we are now in the process of commissioning an industrial scale pellet plant in the Netherlands. This pilot facility will allow us to produce the required volumes of the fuel for these large scale milling and combustion trials. In parallel, our joint venture, SSF, is currently developing two new full-scale production facilities in the United Kingdom which will supply the Uskmouth project with the required volume of fuel at a world-leading quality and specification, using domestic UK waste – waste which is currently either exported to Europe or sent to UK landfills, said Lars Jennissen, CTO of SIMEC Subcoal Fuels.

The Uskmouth Power Station Conversion Project represents the world’s first conversion of a power station from coal to 100 percent waste-derived fuel and following successful trials with MHPS the project will seek to achieve financial close in Q3 2020 with generation beginning in 2021.

The N+P Subcoal stand at the RWM 2019 trade show in Birmingham, UK.
The N+P Subcoal stand at the RWM 2019 trade show in Birmingham, UK.

After investing more than £2 million over the past 12 months in development of the fuel specification required for combustion at Uskmouth and the conversion project’s design and consents, we are now very excited to enter into this important partnership with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, one of the world’s largest and most experienced thermal generation solution and equipment providers. The project is well on track to contract the conversion works on an EPC basis with terms and conditions suitable for project finance. Completion of this contract with MHPS will be a key enabling step towards that goal. The Atlantis project team at Uskmouth and our fuel partners SSF are looking forward to working closely with MHPS on the final industrial-scale tests of the fuel, said David Taaffe, Director of Projects of SIMEC Atlantis.

Most read on Bioenergy International

Get the latest news about Bioenergy

Subscribe for free to our newsletter
Sending request
I accept that Bioenergy International stores and handles my information.
Read more about our integritypolicy here