Monday 14 October 2013

UK waste to energy company raises £1million for Thai project

A company which gets electricity from waste with a process known as 'plasma gasification' has raised £1 million to help fund its expansion plans.

Plasma gasification uses a plasma torch to convert waste into synthetic gas, which is then burnt in gas turbines or internal combustion engines to generate electricity.

The money raised will be used to expand Waste2Tricity’s fledgling operations in Thailand. The company is in discussions with a number of Thai firms and says the more than 9,000 tonnes of waste they need to get rid of daily could be used to generate nearly 1000MW of power within the next five years.

The money will also help Waste2Tricity develop a waste to energy plant in Nottinghamshire and rollout a new fuel cell technology from AFC Energy, which will be used in place of turbines or engines to convert synthetic gas to electricity. Waste2Tricity claims the fuel cells are 50% more efficient at generating electricity than competing methods.

In August Southwark Council became the first in London to use waste to heat homes.