In the UK, SIMEC Atlantis Energy Ltd (Atlantis), a diversified sustainable energy generation company, has announced the successful production of 100 tonnes of fuel pellets for large scale combustion testing and the successful completion of large scale milling tests on the 100 percent waste-derived fuel pellets to be used at the Uskmouth Power Station, post-conversion.
According to a statement, this is a key milestone for the project and provides further confidence that the energy pellets developed as a high calorific value, low-cost alternative to coal are able to be produced in commercial quantities and can be milled using industry-standard designs.
The next stage in the project will be for Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe GmbH (MHPS Europe) to conduct final large scale combustion trials at their 24 MW facility in Q2 2020 to validate combustion system design, prior to concluding EPC contract negotiations with lead project partners.
The fuel pellets, produced by project partner and leading Dutch fuel specialist N+P Group, contain approximately 50 percent biogenic waste material such as paper and cardboard, with the remainder made up predominantly of plastic waste.
The waste used to make the pellets is not currently economically recyclable and therefore, if not used in the production of fuel pellets, would likely have to be disposed of in landfills.
The completion of the fuel production and the milling trials is a major milestone for this flagship conversion project and represent very important steps in the program towards financial close. This project is the world’s first example of a coal-fired power station being repurposed to run on 100 percent waste-derived fuel pellets and the results of this test will potentially have material implications for the way plastic waste, and aging coal-fired power stations, are managed globally in the future, said Tim Cornelius, CEO of SIMEC Atlantis Energy.
