New facility in Scotland to turn waste plastic into hydrogen

This will be Peel NRE’s second facility of this nature and will be located in West Dunbartonshire.

Peel NRE, a part of Peel Land & Property, has unveiled its plans for a second waste plastic to hydrogen facility. This one will be installed on the River Clyde’s north bank at the Rothesay Dock in West Dunbartonshire.

The facility will cost £20 million (USD$28.3 million) and will use non-recyclable plastics.

The waste plastic to hydrogen facility will use non-recyclable plastics that would otherwise be sent to the landfill, would be incinerated, or would be shipped overseas. The goal is to use this material as a sustainable hydrogen source. The H2 produced at the facility will be used as a zero-emission fuel for powering HGVs, buses and cars. The intention is to install a linked H2 refueling station at the site.

The 13,500-metric tonne facility represents the second of its nature in the United Kingdom. They are using new technologies developed by Powerhouse Energy Group plc (LON stock symbol PHE), following the development of its plans for a similar facility located at the Cheshire Peel NRE Protos site, which received approval in 2019.

The waste plastic to hydrogen facility will create a practical purpose for problematic forms of trash.

“Plastic is often demonised, but we have seen how essential it is in industries like healthcare. We do need to recycle as much of this plastic as possible and also get as much value from unrecyclable, end-of-life plastic. This facility will convert plastic into hydrogen a clean fuel that produces no emissions at the point of use, helping to improve local air quality. By co-locating a refuelling station, we can help to kick start the infrastructure needed to support the rollout of hydrogen vehicles which will be an important part of our journey to net zero,” said Peel NRE Director Richard Barker.

Powerhouse Energy executive chair Tim Yeo added, “We are delighted Powerhouse technology is to be deployed in Scotland, helping the region improve air quality and provide a solution to end-of-life plastic. This new facility will play an important role in supporting the objective of both Holyrood and Westminster to make hydrogen a key element of Scotland’s decarbonisation strategy.” He also pointed to the importance of this waste plastic to hydrogen plant as the world places the spotlight on Scotland for the upcoming COP26 meeting in Glasgow later in 2021.