UK: Construction of £7m plastic hydrogen plant begins

Peel Environmental, part of Peel L&P, in partnership with Waste2Tricity, has submitted plans for a 54-hectare Protos waste plastic hydrogen plant near the port of Ellesmere, which will help reduce fossil fuel consumption and create employment opportuniti.

The £7m plant will use 'UK first' advanced heat treatment technology developed by British Energy Group (AIM: PHE) at Thornton Science Park next door to Prot.

This local source of hydrogen can be used as a clean, low-cost fuel for buses, heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and family cars, helping to reduce air pollution and improve air quality on local roa.

The development will also create 14 full-time permanent jobs at the Protos facility and more than 100 jobs in manufacturing and construction in the North We.

Myles Kitcher from Peel Environmental said: "This is an important step towards delivering the first waste plastics to hydrogen facilities across the .

John Hall from Waste2Tricity said: "We are delighted that we have submitted plans for the first power plant, the first in a series of development plans that have the power to make the North West a leader in clean energy and help deliver the government's The goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 205With this plant, we recognize the importance of a low-carbon distributed hydrogen economy and, more importantly, embrace a circular econo.

David Ryan, chief executive of British Energy Group (AIM: PHE), said: "Submission of a planning application is an important step towards the first commercial application of DMG technology, the production of hydrogen from waste plasti.

The Protos Strategic Energy Centre is located within the Energy Innovation District (EID), which is led by the Cheshire Energy Centre and brings together energy users, network owners, innovators and partners including: Cheshire and Warrington LEP, West Cheshire (Cheshire West), Chester Council and the University of Chest.

Gerd Barlow, chairman of the Energy Innovation District, said: "We are looking at how to provide electricity directly to users in the Energy Innovation District in places like Prot.

The project is also one of many in the North West's bid to become the UK's first low carbon cluster by 203 The North West Energy and Hydrogen Cluster is led by the North West Business Leadership Team with support from the Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Regio.