Peel plans to back up to 11 plastic-to-hydrogen parks via a partnership with PowerHouse Energy.
Peel is PowerHouse’s landlord at Protos Energy Park in Cheshire where the firm is setting up its first commercial plant using ‘Distributed Modular Generation’ (DMG) extraction technology. It got planning permission for the plant in March.
Daily output of two tonnes of hydrogen from every 35 tonnes of scrap plastic is projected. Commercial-scale production at the Protos hub is scheduled for next year. The company thinks it can sell hydrogen in commercial quantities for £7-8/kg and receive £80/tonne gate fees for the waste plastic.
The partners plan to deploy the tech on a further ten sites. Peel will co-finance the pipeline and pay PowerHouse and annual £500,000 licence fee for each site that works. Miles Kitcher, Peel’s environmental director, joined PowerHouse’s board in March.
PowerHouse claims its process can synthesise hydrogen from varieties of plastic previously deemed unrecyclable. Used tyres are also a feedstock. Industrial heat, plus HGV-quality road fuel, are among applications targeted. Overseas sales are envisaged, albeit outside the current agreement with Peel.
PowerHouse pared operating losses to £1.7m versus £2.5m the prior year. It is cash positive, chairman Dr Cameron Davies told investors, due to directors waiving fees since April 2019, a 25 per cent reduction on overheads and tax credits claimed post year end.
The deal with Peel will also give PowerHouse a one-off £500,000 payment for exclusivity to develop the projects, subject to PowerHouse successfully acquiring Waste2Tricity.
Details here.
