Aerospace and security firm Lockheed Martin is to proceed with the second phase of the development and construction of a 5MW waste-to-energy plant in Herten, Germany. A $43 million contract has been awarded for this phase of the project from waste gasification technology firm Concord Blue. This inculdes engineering, procurement and construction. The work is scheduled to reach completion in 2017.
Plans to construct the facility were initially announced by the two firms in 2014.
The plant will convert waste products from forestry to energy using Concord Blue’s proprietary Reformer technology. In this process, heat carrier balls are heated to over 400ºC and mixed in with the organic waste.
Following this step, the waste is converted into syngas by a thermolysis process with two stages. In the last step, the gas produced in the thermolyser is transferred to a separate reforming vessel, where it is converted into a high quality syngas.
Concord Blue says the technology can convert organic waste of almost any kind into clean, renewable energy without the creation of harmful byproducts.
In a statement from the company it was confirmed that the Herten waste to energy plant will produce enough energy to power around 5000 homes and businesses from 50,000 tonnes of raw waste per year, diverting a significant amount of waste from lanfdfill.
