The Burning Issue

For the fourth episode of the fourth series, the Burning Issue looks at the state of the market for investors in EfW and bioenergy This episode focuses on:Why the company is called Green Giraffe How it’s raised £35bn Why heating prisons with EfW is a captivating concept SAF is a hugely growing sectorCould failed gasification plants be converted to waste-to-X projects How to get over grid connection woes Turning Wotsits into biogas 

Severnside Carbon Capture and Shipping Hub (7CO2) directors Paul Davies and Keith Birch tell the Burning Issue of the advantage of non-pipeline carbon capture and how it is developing.This episode focuses on:Advantages of flexible non-pipeline carbon capture As the EfW becomes “saturated, CCS is the big area for growth”Why energy recovery can put the ‘Net in Net Zero’Track 2 could see “some uptake of new emerging technologies”How EfW plants could become mini-hubs for CCSCombining SAF production with carbon captureGovernment needs to extend existing Track 1 provisions to Track 2 projects 

Encylis director of policy and sustainability Victoria Merton on carbon capture at Protos, building more facilities and banning recyclets and biogenics from landfill by 2028This episode focuses on:How a team of skilled engineers are looking to build CCS across Encyclis’ portfolio Being a year ahead of nearest rival on full-scale EfW carbon capture project Development of the Protos plants has hit some “speed bumps”A ban on all recyclets and biogenics going to landfill by 2028 Preparing for EfW’s inclusion in the UK ETS  Building more capacity in tougher market conditionsDelivering heat from EfW in Dublin and elsewhere New trade body Resource Recovery UK (RRUK) A graduate of the University of Birmingham, Victoria Merton joined Encyclis when it was called Covanta in 2021 having held senior roles at The Peel Group. 

Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) chief executive Bruno-Frédéric Baudouin tells EWB editor Luke Walsh talks about how the business is developing a new generation of waste processing plants.This episode focuses on:HZI evolving progressively into the leading EfW builder globallyHow the business has, mostly, avoided the financial issues plaguing other EPC builders Moving into the O&M marketFixing plants left unfinished by others  Developing a CCS pilot in the UK with Enfinium Why waste-to-X is the future of the sector Now based in Zürich, French national Bruno-Frédéric Baudouin, joined HZI in 2018. He previously held senior roles at GE Power and Alstom Power. A former student at the Ecole Polytechnique of Paris in the 1990s he also achieved a Master of Business Administration from leading business school the Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) in 2004.

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks to Enfinium's director of external affairs and strategic policy Karl Smyth about building carbon capture at the UK’s largest EfW site This episode focuses on:Developing a CCS pilot at the Ferrybridge EfW site next month What comes next after the permitting pause and expected strategic review of EfW capacity With a general election due will a change of government increase focus on the waste sectorUK ETS will “encourage innovation around contracting” Two more EfW plants expected operational next year How a total of six EfW facilities is “probably” enough for the companyWhy carbon capture is like squeezing a double decker bus through a small pipe network

EWB editor Luke Walsh talks ESA executive director Jacob Hayler as the development and future of the UK’s energy-from-waste sector is thrown into the air by the government’s controversial block on new environmental permits. This episode focuses on: Could an EfW moratorium be in Labour’s general election manifesto  “Political interference” in the permitting processShould DEFRA minister Steve Barclay resign?Government has spread investor concern over the entire permitting processIndustry has a “perception that there is a lack of coordination and joined up clarity” within the current government EA struggling with lack of funds and “too many constraints” Concerns including EfW in the UK ETS will lead to “carbon tourism or leakage”Hayler joined the ESA from the city in 2005 as an economist, and has worked to develop market-focused policies that combine environmental and economic sustainability. He also has responsibility at the trade body for policy relating to finance, tax, carbon management, contracts and of course EfW.