£150m renewable gas facility lined up for Teesside

Plans have been revealed to establish a £150m residual waste to renewable gas facility at Teesworks, creating hundreds of jobs.Circular Fuels is behind the plant, which will take non-recyclable residual waste from households and industry and convert it into renewable dimethyl ether (rDME), which is a safe and cost-effective clean burning fuel.The fuel behaves in the same way as LPG and can be stored in cylinders and used by properties not connected to the UK’s national gas grid. Such properties are some of the hardest to reach in the UK’s efforts to decarbonise the energy sector.More than 200 jobs will be created during the construction phase, and an additional 50 will be created once the plant is operational in 2024.When it is fully up and running, the plant will have the capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes of fuel per year.The facility is earmarked for the Dorman Point area of Teesworks, which recently secured outline planning permission, and will also be carbon capture ready so, when established, it has the potential to link into Net Zero Teesside that is being spearheaded by bp and the wider CCUS infrastructure.Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “This is yet another ground-breaking investment into low carbon energy happening right here, right now, further demonstrating how we are leading the UK in the clean energy sector and driving forward the country’s net zero ambitions.”We’re already home to schemes that are developing ways to decarbonise homes on the national gas grid, but innovative projects like this are vital to produce low-carbon fuel for the off-grid heating sector, which has traditionally been more difficult to target.”And, of course, it will drive forward the creation of hundreds more well-paid, good-quality jobs for people across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool and support our brilliant supply chain businesses.”Circular Fuels is backed and majority owned by liquified petroleum gas (LPG) companies SHV Energy and UGI International, and sustainable energy solutions firm KEW Technology, which is providing the high-efficiency and pressurised advanced conversion technology used within the plant’s process.Søren Jacobsen, Dimeta chief executive and Circular Fuels director, said: “The strong strategic alignment between the Teesworks management team, Dimeta, and LPG industry stakeholders has been crucial to the plant development so far.”Today there is an urgent need to bring rapid and affordable low carbon heating solutions to more than a million households and businesses in the UK that are not connected to the natural gas grid.”We will supply rDME at commercial scale from our Teesworks plant as a high-value and efficient alternative fuel for both individuals and businesses. The use of non-recyclable waste will reduce the UK’s reliance on imported fossil fuels and enables off-grid heating customers to lower their greenhouse gas emissions.”