Encyclis announces UK’s first energy-from-waste plant using HVO to cut fossil fuel emissions

Encyclis has announced the successful completion of a ground-breaking pilot programme to replace diesel in the Energy-from-Waste process with sustainable hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO).
The achievement is the result of a 12-month research and development programme to find out whether diesel could be replaced with a sustainable product made from waste vegetable oil to reduce fossil carbon emissions.
In a UK industry first, Newhurst Energy Recovery Facility (ERF), in Leicestershire, used HVO as part of its start-up process following a planned maintenance outage this month.
Encyclis CEO Owen Michaelson said: “This industry-leading achievement is a testament to the dedication of our teams and another example of the action we are taking right now to decarbonise our energy-from-waste operations. The fact that we are the first to achieve this is a source of immense pride.
“The climate challenge demands action, not words, and that’s at the heart of our strategy. We are working to provide a public sanitation solution that not only recovers energy and other resources from residual waste but actively cuts carbon emissions through initiatives like this, and our carbon capture programme.”
Once longer-term performance testing is completed, Encyclis plans to expand the use of HVO to replace diesel across its fleet of energy recovery facilities.
The company’s Principal Engineer, Shaun Tolley, embarked on a research programme in collaboration with the Germany-based manufacturer of its burners, Saacke.
Detailed testing at the Bremen facility covered a range of operational scenarios to determine the specific combustion properties of HVO and the technical modifications necessary to make the switch to HVO. Following an initial delivery of 40,000 litres of HVO, the plant started up successfully following a planned five-day maintenance outage.
Sven Gose, partner consulting and engineering specialist at Saacke, said: “I had the great pleasure of supporting Encyclis with the introduction of HVO at the Newhurst Energy Recovery Facility. The collaboration with the professionals at Encyclis was excellent and extremely productive. Their structured approach allowed us to quickly and successfully reduce the carbon footprint of this plant significantly.”