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Powerhouse is developing the first hydrogen generating plant using waste plastics based on its proprietary Powerhouse DMG® technology at the Peel Plastic Park.
Situated in the North West of England, near Ellesmere Port, Protos brings together innovative technologies in low carbon energy generation and resource management that are leading the way on the clean growth agenda.
The objective of Protos is to create a symbiosis where businesses can help themselves and their neighbours meet their sustainability objectives and reach net zero emissions. It is a blueprint for the rest of the UK.
The area around Protos is a hub for UK manufacturing and high energy intensive users. The aim is to deliver low-carbon energy directly to industrial customers through a local energy network, ultimately with carbon capture on the doorstep. It sits within the HyNet North West https://hynet.co.uk/.
Protos is planned as the site for a full-scale commercial application of Powerhouse’s DMG® plastics-to-hydrogen technology.
Much plastic – even if it is collected for recycling – does not get recycled. This can be for various reasons – wrong colour, contamination, being a non-targeted plastic, wrong product form etc.
These plastics are rejected at the materials recycling facilities (MRFs) or at the plastic reprocessors plants and are usually disposed of by incineration, or sometimes by being exported under the guise of recycling. Using these plastics as a feedstock, Powerhouse’s DMG® Technology converts the plastic to a synthesis gas (or syngas), from which hydrogen is extracted.
A small portion of the syngas produced is used to provide the heat required to run the Thermal Conversion Chamber in which the process takes place. This makes the whole process self-sustaining once running, with just a small amount of natural gas being required to start it in the first place.
The hydrogen will be compressed on site, so can be loaded onto tube trailers for onward transportation or can be piped to a near-by hydrogen fuelling centre.