Parc Adfer to host first carbon capture pilot in HyNet industrial cluster
Enfinium to install new CCS technology at North Wales facility and Ferrybridge site, trialling heatless capture techniques.
Energy-from-waste (EfW) operator, enfinium, has announced the next phase of its carbon capture and storage (CCS) pilot programmes, which will see a new trial begin in North Wales and the deployment of new technology in Yorkshire.
Wales’ first carbon capture pilot programme
The existing pilot plant at its Ferrybridge facility in West Yorkshire will be relocated to Parc Adfer in North Wales for launch in April 2025. The installation, which takes the form of a 40 foot ISO container, will be operated by partner Kanadevia Inova, and will signify the first pilot scheme deployed in the HyNet industrial cluster.
The pilot will collect operational data on performance metrics such as CO2 capture rates, which will be used to inform future deployment of CCS technology.
The image below details the full carbon capture process that will be utilised at the Parc Adfer facility.
Commenting on the trial, David Parkin, HyNet Alliance Director, said: “HyNet is building the infrastructure that empowers industries to capture and reduce their carbon emissions across the North West and North Wales. This includes playing a key role in supporting energy-from-waste facilities, such as enfinium, to process our everyday waste with a zero carbon footprint.”
Bruno-Frédéric Baudouin, CEO of Kanadevia Inova, added: “As we advance carbon capture successfully in the UK, we also advance public awareness of waste management infrastructure as a key driver of decarbonisation. This is what turns pilot projects into long-term net zero strategies at the national level.
“Through our partnership with enfinium, we are helping to turn the UK into the poster child for carbon capture adoption worldwide, and a great example for other countries to follow.”
Upgrades to Ferrybridge CCS technology
The Ferrybridge facility will be trialling a new technology, installed by tech company Nauda, which uses a metal-organic framework that captures carbon dioxide from point sources through a vacuum swing process.
The system will capture flue gas, containing CO2, which is conditioned and routed to the carbon capture unit where CO2 is selectively captured by the MOF filters. Once the filers are saturated, they are regenerated and, using vacuum rather than heat, release the CO2 into a high-purity stream ready for downstream operations.
After capture, the CO2 will then be recycled into the flue system and eventually released.
The primary objective of the trial will be to assess how the pilot performs when combined with the flue gas from an EfW facility.
Explaining the new technology, Co-CEO of Nauda, Dr Conor Hamill, said: “Nuada is scaling up a capture technology that tackles the cost, energy, and integration challenges of incumbent solutions, to enable the decarbonisation of waste management and the delivery of effective carbon removals.”
Both pilots will run for at least six months, and form part of enfinium’s broader investments in CCS across its six facilities in Ferrybridge, Parc Adfer, Kemsley, Skelton Grange, and Kelvin. The waste operator announced a £1.7 billion net-zero transition plan in 2024, which financed the first trial at Ferrybridge in September.
Mike Maudsley, CEO of enfinium, discussed the company’s broader ambitions: “To achieve net zero, the UK needs to produce carbon removals at scale. Energy from waste will play a critical role in delivering the millions of tonnes of durable carbon removals that are necessary for the UK to achieve net zero.”
The recently published Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget suggested the importance of accelerating CCS installations at EfW facilities, which has become the second-largest source of waste sector emissions over the past decade.
