Food waste anaerobic digestion projects

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Client: EcoGenR8 Ltd
Location: London, UK
Service division: Engineering
Sector: Waste; Water; Energy; Power

EcoGenR8 develops and manages waste treatment and renewable energy supplies in the UK with a primary focus on producing biogas through the anaerobic digestion of organic wastes. In 2011, EcoGenR8 were awarded a contract to develop a portfolio of energy from waste (food waste anaerobic digestion) projects with Thames Water, the UK’s largest water and sewerage company. Thames Water serve a population of 14 million across London and the Thames Valley including  an established network of over 30 anaerobic digestion sites.

Anaerobic digestion has been used to treat sewage sludge for many decades. As well as reducing pathogens in sludge, the process produces valuable biogas which is converted to electricity and heat through CHP (combined heat and power) engines, or upgraded to natural gas quality (biomethane) and injected directly into the gas grid.

EcoGenR8 partnered with Howard Tenens, a sustainable logistics company, to develop the Thames Water opportunity, the focus of which is to sweat existing assets and maximise synergies with current operations in order to develop a portfolio of sites that will have the capability to treat food waste and generate a combination of renewable electricity and biomethane. The project  incorporates detailed technical and commercial development, including:

  • Definition of the market potential
  • Development of technical and financial models
  • Identification of technology, waste, construction and operational partners
  • Planning and permitting applications
  • Securing contracts required for financing

AFECO are providing ongoing support to EcoGenR8 in developing the technical aspects of this project and in particular site investigations, technology evaluations and assessment of integration with existing assets.

Gasification technology market entry strategy

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Client: Isle Utilities
Location:  London, UK and Florida, USA
Service division: Engineering
Sector: Water; Energy

Isle Utilities (Isle) is a niche consultancy with a core focus around technology and innovation who work with many water companies, novel technology providers and investors to bring new technologies to market. Isle were commissioned by a gasification company based in the US to investigate the market potential for their proprietary biosolids gasification technology in the UK and AF ECO were subsequently commissioned to assist with the delivery of the project.

The work carried out by AFECO included:

  • Production of a detailed evaluation of the gasification technology and proposed next generation design, including a site visit to operational facilities in Florida, USA
  • Assessment of the addressable market in the UK
  • Outline of a potential pipeline of projects in the UK
  • Competitor analysis

AFECO assessed the gasification design and made technical recommendations that specifically addressed the needs of the UK market. Contact was made with all water companies in the UK to determine current and future sludge treatment methods, costs and plans and to determine potential appetite for investigating alternative solutions. A potential pipeline of projects was identified from these discussions. The concluding report provided a comprehensive assessment of the UK market and competitive landscape, giving data and key contacts to form the cornerstone of the UK business plan.

Co-Digestion business case

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Client: Isle Utilities
Location:  London and Durham, UK
Service Offering: Consultancy – technical & commercial evaluation
Sector: Water; Waste; Energy; Power

Isle Utilities (Isle) is a niche consultancy with a core focus around technology and innovation who work with many water companies, novel technology providers and investors to bring new technologies to market. Isle were commissioned by Northumbrian Water (NWL) to assist in informing their co-digestion strategy and AFECO were subsequently commissioned to assist with the delivery of the project.
The work consisted of the following key areas:

  • An overview of the financial and commercial structures available and the potential sources of funding for any projects the impact of regulatory accounting, marginal costs, revenues and a breakdown of the commercial structures available
  • Production of a financial and technical model including high level capex and opex estimates
  • SWOT analysis covering legislative, regulatory, commercial, organisation and operational issues throughout the project lifecycle

AFECO fed directly into each area of the project but in particular composed the technical model used to evaluate the existing asset capacity, additional asset capacity requirements and the potential inputs and outputs of the process. In addition to the technical model, AFECO prepared the high level capex and opex estimates required to inform the financial model and prepared the SWOT analysis, assessing the risks associated with regulation, feedstock security, operating risks and impacts on the existing business. The project outputs were presented directly to NWL through a series of meetings as well as in a final report.