Tuesday 18 August 2020

Gresham House backs project to decarbonise coal and steel while avoiding landfill use

Gresham House has financially backed an alternative fuel project being developed by Waste Knot Energy.

The project has secured the funding from the alternative asset manager's British Strategic Investment Fund (BSIF) to build Waste Knot Energy's first alternative fuel pelleting plant, which aims to reduce waste going to landfill whilst providing a fuel to replace coal and pet coke, reducing global carbon emissions.

The businesses say the pellets offer a reliable, low-emission bulk alternative to coal and pet-coke for energy-intensive industries such as cement and steel - construction is already underway at the first site in Teesside, which is forecast manufacture more than 240,000 tonnes of fuel pellets each year.

These will be transported within the UK by rail or exported to other countries by ship.

Roger Ferguson, Founder of Waste Knot Energy, says: “The circular economy demands that we re-use materials wherever possible and landfill should always be avoided. Green Knot pellets are the future of fuel, to sit alongside other sustainable power generation.”

Ed Simpson, BSIF Fund Manager and Investment Director, New Energy at Gresham House, says: “The benefits to the UK from the Waste Knot Energy project are myriad - from providing a waste disposal alternative to reducing carbon emission from the industrial sector and stimulating regional economic activity.

"Having just completed its final funding round, this is exactly the type of strategically important sustainable project BSIF is looking to facilitate, while generating attractive returns for investors.”