Keppel Corporation has, through its infrastructure division, been awarded the renewal of a five-year technical support agreement (TSA) for its Runcorn Phase 1 and 2 energy-from waste facility (EfW) in the UK.
Runcorn Phase 1 is owned by Ineos Runcorn (TPS) Holdings and Runcorn Phase 2 is owned by Viridor Energy Limited. The combined facility, which was designed and built by Keppel, is said to be one of the largest and most efficient EfW projects in the UK, with close to 1 million tonnes of refuse-derived fuel being processed annually.
The renewal of the TSA means Keppel will continue to support the facility for another five years. The scope of the TSA covers assistance during major overhauls and data analysis on plant performance, amongst others.
In addition, Keppel has completed a pre-FEED or preliminary-front end engineering and design study on the energy recovery facility interface points for a proposed carbon capture (CC) facility with the existing Runcorn EfW.
“This formed a part of an overall PreFEED study which supported Viridor’s funding application for the UK government’s industrial carbon capture (ICC) sequencing process, which is a key element in the UK’s decarbonisation strategy,” says Keppel in its July 24 statement.
Runcorn EfW was shortlisted for the final stage in the UK government’s ICC sequencing process in March 2023. The Runcorn EfW is part of the HyNet industrial carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) cluster, which seeks to reduce carbon emissions from industry, homes and transport and support economic growth in the North-West of England.
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The proposed CC facility is expected to capture 900,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually from the flue gases generated by the Runcorn EfW, which is equivalent to the carbon abatement of planting approximately 1.5 million trees annually.
Keppel, being the original designer and builder of the Runcorn EfW, is “well positioned” to advise on the possible synergies between the Runcorn EfW facility and the proposed CC facility.
"The renewal of the technical support agreement for another five years is a recognition of Keppel’s deep capabilities in operating advanced infrastructure assets, where we can help our customers to optimise the performance of their assets,” says Jackson Goh, managing director, environment, infrastructure division of Keppel.
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“In addition, we are pleased to further our collaboration with Viridor on the interfaces to the proposed CC Facility, which would be amongst the first of its kind in the world. The solution leverages Keppel’s proprietary waste-to-energy (WTE) know-how and carbon capture integration expertise to help our customers get to net zero and contribute to the global decarbonisation agenda,” he adds.
"Since the start of the Runcorn EfW Facility, we have enjoyed a strong working relationship with our strategic partner, Keppel. We are happy to renew the technical and service agreement and work with Keppel to explore the interfaces to the proposed Carbon Capture facility with the Runcorn EfW. The Pre-FEED study brings us a step closer to decarbonising the Runcorn EfW. This is part of our goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 and our ambition to be the first negative emissions waste and recycling company in the UK by 2045,” says Pierre Dorel of Viridor.
Shares in Keppel closed 17 cents lower or 2.44% down at $6.79 on July 21.
