UK group Trusts in biofuels
Axion Energy, along with catalytic technologies company Catal International, CARE and technology provider Aquafuel Research, will aim to turn the pyrolysis process into a cheap and green way of producing biofuel on a large scale.
The Carbon Trust estimates that using pyrolysis to produce biofuel from waste could achieve a carbon saving of 95% compared to fossil fuels.
Despite criticism of the environmental credentials of biofuel, the UK Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) already stipulates that petrol and diesel must include 3.25% of biofuel and this could rise to 10% by 2020 under EU directives.
The Carbon Trust says that pyrolysis offers the cheapest way of producing biofuel and could meet over half of the 2020 RTFO target.
The Government is supporting the effort with £3.8 million (€4.2 million) over two years. The Carbon Trust says it will invest £7 million over three to four years in funds from the Departments for Transport and Energy and Climate Change.