About the facility

The construction of Protos Energy Recovery Facility started in December 2020 and it is due to become operational in 2024. From that point it will provide the capacity to treat up to 500,000 tonnes of residual waste per year, generating around 49MW of sustainable baseload electricity in the process.

Protos Energy Recovery Facility will help the UK to achieve national self-sufficiency in managing waste and improve compliance with landfill diversion targets.

The facility is part of Peel NRE’s £700m Protos strategic energy and resource hub at Ellesmere Port, in Cheshire, which clusters together innovative technologies and connects energy-intensive businesses with sources of low-carbon energy.

Facility impact

Recovering more than energy from waste

Our facility will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, turning residual waste into much-needed source of continuous, baseload electricity for homes and businesses via the National Grid. The process is safe, sustainable and reduces dependence on fossil fuels.

But we don’t stop there. Our mission is to recover as much as we can from waste by extracting useful resources from the treatment process.

500,000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill

We will provide a public hygiene solution, dealing with waste that cannot be reused or recycled, and would otherwise go to landfill or be exported overseas.

49MW of sustainable energy

We will produce enough baseload electricity to meet the needs of around 90,000 homes at a time when the UK needs greater energy security and to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Thousands of tonnes of ash to be used in construction

Our treatment process will produce incinerator bottom ash (IBA) that is safely removed and transformed into aggregate for construction. In addition, metals are recovered from the ash for reuse.

Exploring district heating systems

The heat from our process creates the potential for district heating networks. We are exploring this capability for the Protos facility.

leading into the future

Developing carbon capture capabilities

Plans to develop a carbon capture and storage plant at Protos ERF are progressing after the project was selected as a preferred option for potential funding under the Government’s carbon capture cluster sequencing programme.

The facility, part of the HyNet industrial decarbonisation cluster in the North-West of England, was one of only two in the UK selected for the first phase of the prorgamme.

The proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant will capture upwards of 380,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year, utilising the planned HyNet pipeline that will transport CO₂ for storage in depleted gas fields in Liverpool Bay.

Emissions and regulations

Protecting the local environment

Energy-from-Waste is highly regulated to ensure safe operation and protection of the environment. Regulatory bodies such as the Environment Agency set safe emission limits and require continuous real-time monitoring.

Health and safety

Our highest priority

Nothing is more important than safety. It is the first of our company values. A safe, healthy, risk-aware workplace improves the wellbeing of our team, our partners, the local community we serve and the planet we must protect. We set stringent standards and strive to go even further, every day.

Facility partners

Our facility is built on a foundational partnership between Encyclis and Biffa – working together to deliver safe, efficient, continuous services.