DONG Energy to Build World's First Enzymatic Untreated Waste-to-Energy Plant

Dong Energy UK is to build the world's first commercial full-scale plant to produce biogas from untreated Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) using its new enzyme technology in Northwich, UK. The company will finance, build and operate the 120,000 tonnes per year plant, which is expected to be operational in 2017.

The plant will be the first bio-plant in the world to handle unsorted household waste, without prior treatment, using enzymes. The new technology, called REnescience, has been developed by DONG Energy and tested at a demonstration plant in Copenhagen since 2009. The design and planning of the waste to energy plant has been completed, and the site has been awarded planning permission.

The waste will be supplied by the UK waste management company FCC Environment, which already collects household waste in the Northwich region. According to DONG the REnescience plant will be able to receive unsorted household waste, which will be converted into biogas as well as recyclable plastics and metals through enzyme treatment. The biogas is converted to green power via gas engines.

DONG Energy said that it expects construction work to begin this month, with the plant being commissioned in early 2017.