EQTEC collaborates with Anaergia for Southport Project

EQTEC plc, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Southport WTV Limited, and its partners Rotunda Group Limited and Rotunda’s subsidiary, Shankley Biogas Limited, the Project SPV has entered into a cooperation agreement with Anaergia Inc. for the construction and operation of a multi-technology, waste-to-energy facility at Southport Hybrid Energy Park, Merseyside, UK.

The Plant includes an Anaergia waste processing facility that will accept 80,000 tonnes of pre-processed municipal solid waste (MSW) per year to recover organics that produce refused-derived fuel (RDF) and an Anaergia anaerobic digestion facility. It is designed to convert the recovered organics into six million cubic metres of biomethane per year, to be injected into the national gas transmission system.

Through combined heat and power (CHP) engines, the Plant will also pull gas from the grid to generate 9MWe for export to the national electricity transmission system. The Plant design also includes a 2MW battery storage facility.

Under the Agreement, Anaergia is to undertake a full Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) role for the Plant-based on a fixed price, lump-sum contract for the capital works scope as well as a separate, minimum five-year contract to Operate & Maintain (“O&M”) the Plant. Establishing these two key relationships-for for the EPC for the Project and for the O&M for the Plant-is critical for completing development and moving into the next phase of the Project.

The Company, which is leading the development of the Plant, intends in a future phase of work, subject to planning, to add EQTEC Advanced Gasification Technology that could convert 25,000 tonnes of RDF per year, supplied by the Plant’s waste processing facility, into an estimated 2.5 – 3.0MWe of clean electricity. The Company is further exploring the option of producing clean hydrogen at the Plant by applying its synthesis gas (syngas) technology and syngas-to-hydrogen technology provided by a technology partner.

The full Plant facilities are expected to export the equivalent of 20% or more of Southport’s energy requirement to the grid.

EQTEC is a co-developer and gasification technology provider to the Project, working in partnership with Rotunda Group and its subsidiary Shankley Biogas at Watts Industrial Estate, Southport Hybrid Energy Park Crowland Street, Southport, Merseyside, UK. In September 2021, the Company entered into a conditional Share Purchase Agreement to acquire full ownership of Shankley Biogas and the Project from Rotunda.